A little more than five years after taking over what is now Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai, the upgrades and expansion of the facility continues. And General Manager Matt Jenkins has nearly a million reasons to prove it.

 

As for the expansion, the dealership situated on Lodgeville Road recently acquired a grading permit on May 7 for $145,157 from the city with Cove Run Contracting handling the work. What that means is likely more options for customers.

 

“The grading is taking place in the lower gravel lot,” said Bridgeport Community Development Director Andrea Kerr. “We’ve discussed plans as to what else could be coming, but right now the grading work is getting ready to go along with the site to prepare the land.”

 

According to Jenkins, the work will set the stage for more options and potentially more things in the future.

 

“What we know for sure that we’re going to do is to pave it and light and get it set and ready for use with vehicles and for future use,” said Jenkins. “At this time, we’re not going to put a building up because we need the space. At the same time, we’re going to wire the property to set the stage for another phase.”

 

The paving may be the most notable work being done as it begins, particularly by those traveling along Interstate 79, but it isn’t the most expensive project. Jenkins pointed to two more projects being done at the building that push the grand total of work for this year to nearly $1 million.

 

The base HVAC system is part of the overhaul and comes in at a cost of $460,000. Remodeling of the building, which Jenkins said needed an overhaul, has a price tag of $300,000.

 

“They’ve really knocked out of the park with renovations and additions. They’ve taken that portion of Lodgeville Road and made it look extremely nice,” said Jenkins. “We’re excited to see what eventually happens with the lower lot because their recent history shows they tend to be aggressive.”

 

This is the second substantial upgrade Jenkins has made to the property. The first was completed in September of 2016 when $2.2 million expansion and upgrade was done to the existing building along with property acquisition. The bulk of the expansion was for service bays and customer waiting areas as the result of growth.

 

The possibility of more growth continues with the latest permit issued. It also continues thanks to what Jenkins said is “incredible” business.

 

“The only concern is I’m running out of space because we’ve on fire since we’ve got to this location,” said Jenkins, who acquired the business from Larry Meyers. “This store has been a monster and part of that reason is because Bridgeport has been great to work with whenever we have a project and we know that will be the case with whatever we do.”

 

Jenkins said there will be some type of building on the property in the future. He said it would be, at the least, featuring strictly used vehicles or at the most a new franchise.

 

"We're having record sales ... Business is booming," he said. "That's allowing us to do what we want and need to do."

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the lot that will have nearly $150,000 worth of upgrades to it, while the second photo is from 2014 during the grand opening ceremony and shows Jenkins General Manager Matt Jenkins as his family looks on. Bottom photo shows Bridgeport Community Development Director Andrea Kerr going over various plans and permits.