Renton Honda is one of the key anchors of Renton’s Automall on Grady Way and an important source of sales tax to help the City of Renton weather tough economic times.
The longtime dealership sits right at one of the key gateways to Renton where State Route 167 becomes Rainier Avenue.
Within in the next two years or so, it will move to a new location of East Valley Road, joining two other dealerships under the Younker name – Younker Nissan and Younker Mitsubishi.
The move will keep Renton Honda, and its sales-tax dollars, in Renton.
“Keeping Renton Honda in Renton is a high priority for the city,” said Alex Pietsch, the City of Renton’s administrator of the Department of Community and Economic Development.
The city already is studying how to better connect the two concentrations of auto dealers, one on Grady Way and the other on East Valley Road, Pietsch said.
The key gateway to Renton on Rainier Avenue already has a large open area – the former site of Sound Ford, which several years ago moved across Grady Way from Renton Honda.
“It’s been frustrating to have that property vacant for so long,” Pietsch said.
There’s interest in the property, but the price is an issue, he said.“It is priced aggressively for the market and that’s a factor why it hasn’t been picked up,” Pietsch said.
The Renton Honda move is part of owner Dave Lanphere’s plan to consolidate Renton Honda and his Downtown Harley Davidson at one location in south Renton. But it also meant the closure of Renton Motorcycle Co., which happened Tuesday, next to the Harley Davidson dealership.
It’s an opportunity for Lanphere, but also one for the City of Renton and potentially another dealership.
“This presents us with a tremendous opportunity for a new dealership or a new use at one of the most highly trafficked intersections in the county,” said Pietsch.
The Automall is one of the most successful such groupings of auto dealerships in the state, he said. “This is a great place to sell cars,” he said. “It think it will continue to be.”
Renton Honda dealership underwent a $9 million expansion and renovation about four years ago.
Renton Honda won’t move for 18 months to 24 months, said Terry Stallcop, the Harley Davidson general manager, during which it will seek permits from the City of Renton to remodel the Renton Motorcycle space.
The four lots and the building that now house the Renton Honda dealership are owned by Greenwell/ Renton L.L.C., an entity affiliated with Robert F. Greenwell Co. LP, which is based in Hawaii.
Pete Greenwell said Wednesday in an interview that all options are open regarding the future use of the property, subject to the rights of the current tenant.
“We might look to sell it. We might look to put another user in there,” he said. “We might look to subdivide it.”
Stallcop said Tuesday the location on East Valley Road will provide better street access for customers.
Lanphere leases the four separate parcels on which his Honda dealership is located. Now, Lanphere can consolidate under his ownership, Stallcop said.
