It’s been more than two years since Bridgeport Community Development Director Randy Spellman announced that a second new car dealership will be opening on Lodgeville Road. And it’s been more than half a year since a sign went up – the first activity since that announcement – stating that a new Volkswagen and Audi dealership was on its way.

 

Things had been quiet on the front since that time as to the status of the new dealership. That, however, has changed since the start of the year. Late last month, Jeremy Snawder, the company that is doing the project’s vice president of IT and marketing for Martin Management of Kentucky, confirmed that the project was still alive.

 

Today, however, it was confirmed via email. Tadishi Morgan, a marketing manager, was able to provide answers and information to several questions from Connect-Bridgeport that were submitted in January.

 

According to the information, a groundbreaking will take place this summer. The site for the new dealership is along Lodgeville Road and just above the Jenkins Subaru-Hyundai dealership. As for the cost, the company states that it will be a “multi-million dollar facility.”

 

“We have been waiting for winter weather to move forward with any principal construction. We’ve done some landscaping and some roadwork with a vendor, but everything else is still in the process of being planned,” Snawder said.

 

RICOP Construction will oversee the project comprising several acres along Lodgeville Road. The company is based out of Dayton, Ohio.

 

While Snawder said last month, details on the design were being worked out as late as last month with the two automobile brands. However, the press release states that it should be a first-class building.

 

“Overlooking I?79, customers will enjoy a convenient and world?class experience in a new cutting edge contemporary dealership,” the release stated.

 

This will put three car dealerships, including two that offer four brands, within a half a mile of one another along Lodgeville Road. Along with this new dealership and those owned by the Jenkins family, Dan Cava’s Used Car World sits at the intersection of Johnson and Lodgeville in a relatively new multi-million dollar building.

 

“Location and visibility is always a primary concern,” said Snawder, whose Martin Management Group is out of Bowling Green. “Having other automotive interests does, typically, support and increase the traffic and that’s a good idea. That’s not only thing that’s a concern, but it’s a positive even though not the influencing factor.”

 

Spellman was fairly certain, even without the activity that something was still going to happen even though until last month there was no interaction between the company and the dealership.

 

“We knew the company had purchased the property so we had a level of confidence that something would take place, but we didn’t know when,” said Spellman. “We received plans from the Thrasher group, but they’re not the final plans. They’re more conceptual in nature. Getting those (last month) were the first things that let us know the project was moving forward.”

 

Martin Management purchased the Volkswagen and Audi dealerships from Anthony Mancuso. It’s the dealership that is located just past the Veteran’s Park in Clarksburg.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows the sign that's been in place since this past summer along Lodgeville Road, while Community Development Director Randy Spellman is shown below.