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Car Row Getting More Crowded | New, two-story Mazda showroom in the works for West Service Road

New, two-story Mazda showroom in the works for West Service Road

A car dealer is nearly tripling the amount of land he owns on Hartford’s West Service Road, increasing his property from 4.3 acres to about 11 acres through two property acquisitions.

Plans for one of the parcels is waiting for city approval for the construction of a new, two-story, 20,000 square-foot Mazda showroom at 91 West Service Rd.

The site for the new Mazda facility will be located behind Burger King and McDonalds near the Jennings Road exit on Interstate 91.

The property acquisitions will allow Wallingford-based Executive Auto Group, which owns Liberty Honda at 71 West Service Rd., to relocate its existing Mazda operation currently located on Leibert Road, located on the eastern side of Interstate 91.

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John Orsini, who heads the dealership group, purchased the Mazda dealership from local auto dealer Tony March last year.

More Land

The new Mazda showroom will be constructed on 1.59 acres of city land Orsini purchased in 1998, combined with another 1.5 acres of city-owned land he is currently negotiating to purchase for about $307,000.

Construction will begin as soon as the city approves the dealership’s plans, said Bradford Deveran, general manager of the Liberty Mazda. The goal is to open the new showroom — featuring a glass-enclosed lift where a vehicle will appear to be hanging mid-air in the showroom — by year’s end, Deveran said.

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Plans for the new facility include a 10-bay car service facility, an Internet café, a waiting room for service customers, and a simulated wind tunnel to demonstrate the vehicles aerodynamics.

Orsini recently revised his plans to include the addition of a second floor, where a conference room, office, file room and storage room for auto parts will be located.

A connector road between Weston Street and West Service Road constructed by the city in 2004 provided access to the previously landlocked parcel owned by Orsini, said Glenn E. Geathers, neighborhood project manager for the city’s office of development services.

Other Deals

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In an unrelated acquisition, Orsini also purchased a commercial building with 5.2 acres at 125 West Service Rd. for $2.9 million in January. Currently, the parcel is being used as a car storage lot.

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