Automotive News Canada - December 2023 - S12

12
BEST PRACTICES 2023
To stay in the city, dealership
thinks smaller and taller
As urban stores vanish,
one uses a tight footprint
to maintain a toehold
By STEVE MERTL
VANCOUVER CORRESPONDENT
TO LOCATE A FULL-SERVICE
dealership in a snug space in downtown
Vancouver, Jim Pattison Auto Group
built upward - visibly taking three
levels of a 13-storey building - but
also downward, with five floors underground,
housing service, washing
and detailing, and new and
used inventory.
lot, but you need a place to show them. "
Harbottle said the store draws customers
from across Vancouver. It's convenient
for commuters who want to service
their vehicles or browse
for a new one on lunch break,
he said, noting that overall
industry sales remain strong.
" So, it's certainly a very
good market. "
FROM THE
The innovative design allowed
Jim Pattison Toyota Downtown
to keep its address in the core
at a time when dealerships are
often driven to the suburbs by the high
cost of prime central real estate and zoning
rules.
The revamped
Toyota store boasts
eight levels, which
include a huge display
area and extensive
service department,
all on a comparatively
small
footprint.
Harbottle: " You
don't need three
or four acres of
cars on your lot,
but you need a
place to show
them. "
SUPPLIED PHOTO
It reopened in
late August in a
gleaming new commercial-residential
tower
complex on
the southern edge
of the city core. The
dealership held a
grand opening in
late November.
" More and more
JANUARY
EDITION
FROM THE
FEBRUARY
EDITION
FROM THE
MARCH
EDITION
FROM THE
APRIL
EDITION
EDITION
FROM THE
MAY
of our business is going online, " said
Bill Harbottle, president of the group,
which owns 28 franchised dealerships in
western Canada. " But at the end of the
day, people still want to see, feel, touch
and test-drive automobiles. You don't
need three or four acres of cars on your
EDITION
FROM THE
EDITION
FROM THE
JUNE
JULY
FROM THE
AUGUST
EDITION
The dealership " is ideally
situated to conveniently serve
our customers living or working
in downtown Vancouver, "
said Larry Hutchinson, CEO,
Toyota Canada. " As urban
real-estate valuations
continue to rise, dealerships
must adapt
and become creative in
how they maintain a
footprint to serve their
customers in these areas. The
new Jim Pattison Downtown
Toyota facility is an excellent
example of an innovative
approach to this type of challenge. "
Pattison has owned the location since
2007. " When we purchased it, we had
the intention of redeveloping the site to
some mixed use but still maintaining
[the Toyota] dealership, " said Harbottle.
The nine floors above the dealership
in the 13-storey high-rise will be occupied
by Lululemon, the athletic apparel
company, while the remaining level is
leased to a private medical clinic.
Pattison partnered with
Reliance Properties, which
owned adjacent buildings, to
jointly redevelop their properties,
including a 60-storey
tower.
FIVE YEARS TO GET APPROVAL
Getting the project through
Hutchinson:
" As urban
real-estate
valuations
continue to rise,
dealerships
must adapt
and become
creative. "
FILE PHOTO
Vancouver's planning bureaucracy
was " a brutal process, "
said Harbottle.
" We had to redesign the
thing three times. " It took five
years before city planners
greenlighted the final design of
the complex, he said.
In an email to Automotive
News Canada, the City of
Vancouver's development
office said the original rezoning
application was submitted
in November 2010 and reviewed under
its policy covering higher buildings and
included a review by an urban design
panel, among other steps. A development
permit was approved in April 2016.
" Considering the complexity of this
project, including legal agreements to be
Jim Pattison Auto Group built upward-
visibly taking three storeys of a 13-storey
building-but also downward, with
five floors underground that house an
extensive service department, all on
a relatively small footprint.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Automotive News Canada - December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - December 2023
