Chevrolet Dealer Eyes Jericho Turnpike
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Preparation work is underway Tuesday at the future site of Chevrolet of Huntington.
A Chevrolet dealership is poised to join the array of car dealerships on East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station.
Work is underway on the property next door to Stop & Shop supermarket; the land has been cleared with hopes of building the new home for the Atlantic Auto Group’s Chevrolet of Huntington, which is currently located at 370 Oakwood Road.
Plans call for the new dealership to be built in two phases on the 2.2-acre parcel, a fenced-off lot where heavy equipment could be seen Tuesday. The lion’s share of construction will occur as part of phase one, which calls for a 12,114 square-foot first floor and a 19,662 square-foot lower level to the dealership. The second phase will add 2,395 feet to the first floor.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that they’ll do phase two,” attorney John Breslin said Monday.
Town spokesman A.J. Carter said the proposal was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals last year, and the planning board signed off on site plans on Sept. 10. Building permits were issued on Dec. 4.
The site has been eyed for a General Motors-brand dealership for several years, Breslin said. Previously, approvals had been granted to build a Saturn dealership at the site, but those were scuttled when General Motors discontinued Saturn in 2010.
Once complete, the dealership would join a bustling auto market on Jericho Turnpike, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda, Nissan and others; Atlantic Auto Group, which has 30 dealerships on Long Island selling 15 brands, already operates Toyota and Scion dealerships along that stretch.
Initial plans for the Chevrolet dealership were filed at Huntington Town Hall in February 2013 and have “changed three or four times” to reconcile the needs of General Motors and the local dealership, Breslin said.
He added that while Chevrolet of Huntington leases its current space on Oakwood Road, Atlantic Auto Group would own the Jericho Turnpike site, which it purchased from General Motors. Breslin said it’s unclear if the Atlantic Auto Group would continue to utilize the Oakwood property for any Chevrolet of Huntington uses.
