Executive Kia in Wallingford will demolish its existing facility and build a new one in a plan unanimously approved Wednesday night by the Wallingford Planning and Zoning Commission.
The proposal was part of an application for a special permit presented during a public hearing by Jim Cassidy, an engineer with Hallisey, Pearson & Cassidy Engineering Associates, on behalf of the dealership’s owner, John Orsini.
The plan is unusual in that it seeks to combine five parcels on North Colony Road (Route 5) into two, with the Executive Kia lot adding pieces of surrounding properties, including a portion of the adjacent Executive Honda dealership’s property. The Honda dealership will remain in place.
Executive Kia is located at 1164 North Colony Road, while Executive Honda is located at 1194 North Colony Road. The other parcels affected include 1174, 1180 and 1192 North Colony Road. All are owned by the Executive Auto Group.
According to Cassidy, the project would demolish the existing 11,000-square-foot building that includes the Kia showroom and service bays, and replace it with a 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art structure.
“Mr. Orsini is obligated through his relationship with Kia to build a new dealership,” Cassidy said.
The project would reduce the Executive Honda property from 7 acres to 6, while merging the land from 1174, 1180 and 1192 North Colony Road with the Executive Kia property into one parcel that is 4.675 acres. Together, the four parcels would retain the address of 1164 North Colony Road.
The reconstruction will also address several nonconforming aspects of the existing building and landscaping, and reduce the number of curb cuts from six to two, he said.
The existing Kia dealership “itself is basically non-conforming to everything other than frontage and building coverage,” Cassidy said.
The new building will be “mainly a one-story structure,” he said, including a vehicle display showroom and service bays, while adding that “a small mezzanine section” will be located above the showroom for office space.
The application, he added, does not seek to change any of the existing uses, such as automotive repair. “It’s the same operation as there is today, it’s just an improved operation,” he said.
The proposal also includes significant property grading that will require removing about 119,000 yards of material, which will be used at another location. Cassidy said that would require trucks to make 22,000 round trips from the property.
The applicants also presented a specific plan that allows both the dealership and the service bays to remain open during demolition and construction.
