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White Allen expects to build another dealership next to the one it operates on Springboro Pike near the Dayton Mall despite Miami Twp. rejecting a recent plan.
“Everything will get approved,” Tim White Jr., eastern operations manager for the company, said of the proposal estimated to cost at least $3 million
“It just may take longer than we initially had hoped,” he added. “I am confident we’ll come to an agreement and a plan that works for everybody involved.”
White Allen has submitted a new plan to replace the one township trustees rejected Tuesday night after a zoning commission did the same when the Volkswagen dealership proposal failed to meet lighting, landscaping and roofing standards.
The proposal — if approved — would add to an automobile sales corridor near the Dayton Mall that includes four Matt Castrucci lots on Mall Park Drive, Walker Toyota on Ohio 741 just south of the mall and Interstate Ford on Ohio 725 west of I-75.
White Allen, which began in the 1930s, also operates Chevrolet and Honda dealerships in Dayton.
The new plan for a 20,200 square foot facility is in line with lighting and landscaping requirements, but includes a flat roof rather than a pitched – or sloped - one specified in township guidelines, architect Steve Pitchel said.
White said no Volkswagen dealerships in the U.S. have pitched roofs.
The company's rejected plan differed drastically from the 9,000 square foot preowned dealership it had looked to build on 3.3 acres to allow the White Allen European Auto Group just south of the site to sell new vehicles only.
White said changes in recent months by manufacturers forced the company to alter the plan. The “primary push” for those changes was that Jaguar and Land Rover – two brands part of the existing dealership – would not sign off on the deal, White said.
Township officials said the new plan is expected to go back to the zoning commission next month. The proposed dealership is estimated to cost about $3 million in construction alone, according to Pitchel.
If approved, White Allen would then buy the land from Zengel Construction Co., White said.
Zengel also developed the Vienna Parkway neighborhood east of the site. Residents have been concerned that another dealership would infringe on their property.
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