4 Reuses For Newly Closed Car Dealerships: Green Urban Planning

thedailygreen.com:

A car dealership is perhaps the greatest symbol of the car-dominated strip mall culture that has defined (and one could say decimated) American neighborhoods for a half century, and which is only slowly losing favor as communities see the value of new urbanism -- the clustering of development around new and existing town centers, where housing, shopping, schools and workplaces are integrated in walkable downtowns served by public transit options.

Read the whole story: thedailygreen.com

Comments

[loki]

I saw a recently closed car dealership turned into a National Rent to Own center. Which the way things are going, all of us may have no choice but to rent as we wont be able to buy anymore.

[American50]

NO One in my American Family would even think of owning an Asian Vehicle!!!!!!!!!

[commentsareus]

Homeless shelter with job training center.

[JScott]

Hmmm elsewhere on here there's a post about a Sex Theme Park.....(­in China) but that might be a good reuse.

[JnrNorman]

Yes let the property owners decide.

[Tommygun264]

Urban planning and permitting is nothing new and for good reason. Property owners haven't been allowed to do whatever they want with their property since the days of the old west, and even then that was mostly in areas that were still Territories, not States. Try to open a liquor store, tobacco shop, strip club, bar, porn shop or tattoo parlor on land you own close to a church or school. Try to operate a business of any kind on land zoned residential.

In the late 1980's a Japanese investment company bought up ten acres of land populated by small businesses in a busy commercial area. They evicted all the businesses and tore down all the structures on the property so they wouldn't have the expense of liability insurance. Then the Japanese economy went bust and the investors couldn't afford to build the super block they had been promoting in the local media. The property sat vacant, just rubble and weeds surrounded by chain link for 12 years because the owners couldn't build, but refused to sell.

[JScott]

Many 'dealerships' are good examples of late 60's early 70's modern architecture, reuse em for something else but save the structures. I know of 3 that used to be car dealers and are used still for that or related retail most of em are pretty much intact. 3 good examples do google street view of
Holt & Mountain Ontario Ca ne corner (Old Lincoln Mercury car dealer) Reservoir & Holt Pomona Ca
sw corner (Old Cadillac dealer) and Casa De Cadillac in Sherman Oaks-Ventura Blvd. & Beverly Glen Blvd.

[karela]

My small city already has a few empty old car dealerships. I think their owners would be tremendously pleased if somebody had a good idea for usage because then there would be a market for their properties. As it is, they sit vacant for years. The stimulus money is for shovel ready projects, why not use some of these vacant areas for clean energy like solar? Nobody would be forced and it could be a viable out for dealer owners who are wondering what to do with their lives and their property now.

[karela]

I thought it was a great idea to use all that black top area as a place to put solar panels. They'll be empty and there is money for shovel ready projects. If there is leakage and contamination, it would be covered with panels that would keep people and animals from getting close. At least in sunny areas. Why not?

[crater123]

too soon

[Tommygun264]

They just announced that 2,000 dealerships will be closed down. How long should we wait?

A local car lot that sat vacant for more than two years was finally leased for use as a collection site for our state bottle and can recycling program. It's a hell of a lot more attractive than an empty lot covered with weeds and a building covered in graffiti gang symbols.

[davidwayneosedach]

Location. Location. Location. How about condo developments?

[American50]

http://www.drive-american.org/letters.htm

http://wwwamericanpatriot-vance.blogspot.com/

[CrzyRussell]

I think it should be left up to the owners to determine what they do with THEIR property.

[CR46]

I agree. But I do think it's time for businesses to start looking at remodeling and using existing building instead of always building new ones. Example a bank closed in a city near me two years ago, and another bank(different branch) built a new nank half a block away from this existing bank thsi year.

[vagabondvet]

Apparently the new bank didn't like the old bank's building. That's about the gist of it.

[sc300nc]

Here is a novel idea. Let the owners of the property decide what they want to do with it.

[JScott]

Yup that have complete freedom to do whatever the want wiith it (toxic waste dump, fireworks factory, massage parlor, adult 'novelties' store, 'gentleman's club', nuclear power plant) damn what the adjacent property owners may think.....­..maybe in Houston.

[Tom95134]

Many of these dealerships were given preferential tax treatments by the municipality and the property should be reclaimed by the taxing agency for failure to deliver on their agreements.

The other option is to wait until the property isn't being kept up and then condem it for use by the municipality.

[Semaj51]

In reality, car dealerships which close simple sit there, a large building surrounded by acres of concrete. With today's economy, it will be decades before we see just these dealerships gone.

[Tom95134]

Tear up the lots and turn the land back into farmland or parks.