The first major investment on West 117th Street south of Interstate 90 in years is an expansion of this used car dealership. It would result in the development of a vacant lot and the demolition of a century-old structure (Google). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Car dealership expands on city’s West Side
West 117th Street south of Interstate 90 hasn’t seen a lot of development in the past 20 years or so, unlike the areas to the north of the highway. But that may be starting to change for this portion of Cleveland’s Westown neighborhood.
After a long-closed White Castle fast food restaurant was repurposed as a Dunkin Donuts five years ago for $346,825, a neighbor across the street plans to greatly expand its business and footprint, according to Cleveland Building Department records.
Auto Expo USA, 3250 W. 117th St., plans to invest $1.6 million to more than double the size of its used-car deadlership, city records show. The half-acre dealership at the corner of Triskett Road would expand north along West 117th on land it already owns to near Arden Avenue and total 1.3 acres.
Under the names 3250 West 117 Elite Properties LLC and Ohio Elite Property Investments LLC, Auto Expo USA CEO Amar Assad of Westlake owns the land. He added 0.8 acres in 2018 at a purchase price of $575,000, according to Cuyahoga County property records.
The current Auto Expo USA includes a former, 1965-built gas station that was converted to a Ganley car dealership in 1987 and expanded with a larger service garage in 2013. The property expansion includes the Tiny Caterpillars Childcare Center in a two-story, 1920-built brick building.
Site plan for the proposed Auto Expo USA car dealership with West 117th Street at the bottom and north to the right. Triskett Road is along the left side of the image (Cleveland Building Department).
The childcare center is due to be demolished, per site plans provided to the Building Department last week. Next door is a vacant lot that had a one-story retail building that was demolished just after the turn of the century.
“Auto Expo USA proposes the construction of a new state-of-the-art automotive sales and service facility located at 3232 W. 117th Street, Cleveland, OH, as an expansion of our existing dealership,” wrote Assad in his building permit application to the city.
“This $1.6 million development project will unify both properties into a modern, full-service automotive campus designed to better serve the Greater Cleveland community,” he continued. “The proposed expansion includes a new showroom, customer service area, indoor delivery bay, and expanded vehicle display lot, along with dedicated service bays and administrative offices.”
Although architectural plans were not yet provided to the city, Assad described the proposed building as offering contemporary architecture, energy-efficient systems, and modern site improvements including upgraded lighting, landscaping, stormwater management, and clearly defined traffic flow for both customers and service vehicles.
West 117th north of I-90 has seen or will soon see new development lately including a newly announced renovation of the 20-year-old Target store. That followed the demolition of the nearly 100-year-old Lido Lounge strip bar for the construction of a Bank of America branch last year.
Looking generally south on West 117th Street, the site on which the car dealership is to be expanded is seen here. That includes demolishing the two-story, century-old brick building containing the Tiny Caterpillars Childcare Center. The land at right had a single-story retail building on it until just after 2000 (Google).
“This (car dealership) investment represents a major enhancement to the corridor, supporting local employment and economic growth,” Assad wrote. “The expanded facility will create new sales, service, and administrative jobs, improve the overall visual appeal of the area, and strengthen the long-term presence of a locally owned business that has served the Cleveland community for over two decades.”
The work area was described in the application as measuring 25,000 square feet but with new building construction of about 15,000 square feet. An email sent by NEOtrans to Assad seeking more information was not responded to prior to publication of this article.
“Auto Expo USA’s goal is to continue providing exceptional automotive services while contributing to the revitalization of the West 117th Street corridor through responsible, high-quality development,” he wrote in the application.
In July, Auto Expo USA proposed what it called an Art Display addition for the site. It sought the installation of an overhead art display consisting of a Smart Fortwo vehicle mounted on a structural column section and drilled shaft foundation. The city denied the application in August and Assad withdrew it from further consideration.
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