It was in August that Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai took part in a “Car Wars” show at the Charles Pointe development. As a result, a lot of the stock of the dealership along Lodgeville Road that is usually clearly visible from Interstate 79 seemed to be missing.

 

“We took just about every car we had off site for that event,” said General Manager Matt Jenkins. “It turned out really well because we sold 36 cars in four days. The other thing it did was create a lot of phone calls for people driving by and seeing a pretty empty lot. A few people thought we were going out of business. We assured everyone that wasn’t even remotely the case.”

 

Jenkins isn’t fabricating his comment about the dealership not even being “remotely” close to closing. Instead, the dealership is expanding. In fact, it’s expanding to the tune of roughly $2.2 million.

 

Ironically, Bridgeport Community Development Director Randy Spellman said the permit was issued at nearly the time as the lot at Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai was somewhat vacant – on August 13. The permit was issued for $1.6 million, which produced a permit fee of $11,800.

 

Spellman said the expansion cover 8,401 square feet. He added that the building will be roughly 32,000 square feet.

 

While the permit for building is $1.6, other additions not required as part of the permit process pushes the total past the $2 million mark. Among the addition is roughly an acre of land just to the left of the main entrance that will be used to showcase cars and could even be utilized for more expansion in the future.

 

As for the main expansion, Spellman said it’s listed as a service bay expansion. And while that’s true, Jenkins added that it’s much more that is being handled by the contractor – the Alonso Group out of Flemington.

 

“This expansion is necessary because we’re selling so many cars,” said Jenkins. “We just didn’t have enough service bays and we’re adding two to the front side of the building and three quick service bays on the side. This should benefit customers because they can drive in their vehicles for service into two lanes that we’ll be creating with this project.”

 

As mentioned, there is more. There will be a customer waiting area and the moving of the service department. Those are just the main features. Jenkins said customers will also notice new lighting on the outside and the new acreage acquired will be graveled and could soon see future updates as well.

“There’s a lot of features in this expansion that we hope will greatly enhance the customer experience and our ability to service our customers,” said Jenkins. “That’s important for growth.”

 

It would be hard to argue the recipe isn’t working. Despite taking over the former Larry Meyers dealership a year and a half ago – on April 1, 2014 – the business is already having a multi-million dollar expansion. And Jenkins said the biggest problem they’re having is keeping inventory as the cars are moving out constantly.

 

“We knew it was going to be a good venture,” said Jenkins, whose family has been in the car business for decades, we’ve exceeded every expectation for selling cars by a substantial amount. This location has served our business and our customers well and we hope to continue growing.”

 

Spellman said the addition being done proves that the business is working. And he also said it’s proving Bridgeport is a good place to do business.

 

“When this was sold to the Jenkins family we knew it was in good hands, but for them to come in and make this type of an addition within the first couple of years tells the city they are committed to the area and that they’re succeeding,” said Spellman. “This is good news on every economic development front. We’re thrilled to have them in Bridgeport and we’re thrilled that their Bridgeport location is working out for them.”

 

Editor's Note: In the top photo, GM Matt Jenkins looks over the blueprints for the expansion of the dealership, while in the bottom picture he shows the area were additional square footage will be added. In the middle picture, contractors continue the infrastructure work as the project proceeds.