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Tom Wood Automotive Group plans to build a sleek new Porsche dealership in front of the former HHGregg headquarters campus on the far-north side of Indianapolis.
The dealership, which would replace the company’s existing Porsche facility located nearby, would occupy an outlot parcel at 4105 E. 96th St., directly north of the former HHGregg campus.
The proposed project with a modernist design would consist of a two-level, 59,440-square-foot showroom and vehicle service center with outdoor show space, according to filings with the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development.
Financial details of the project were not disclosed, but the 2.76-acre parcel—formerly home to a Steak ‘n Shake that closed in 2019—is under contract pending necessary city approvals.
The automotive group, which has 14 dealerships across central Indiana, is asking the city to rezone the property to allow for the automotive sales center. Tom Wood’s current Porsche facility is located at 3473 E. 96th St. and often uses a portion of the adjacent Woodland Bowl’s parking lot for inventory parking.
City staff initially recommended denial of the rezone request, because use of the land for vehicle sales was specifically removed from permitted uses when the full HHGregg site (including the outlot) was rezoned last year to allow for industrial projects.
“This, we think, is a little different, because it allows an existing dealership … to build a beautiful new facility on this west outlot,” Joe Calderon, an attorney representing Tom Wood on the rezoning effort, said Thursday during a presentation to the Metropolitan Development Commission hearing examiner.
Calderon is a partner in law firm Barnes & Thornburg and is based in its Indianapolis office.
He said the updated design of the dealership will be focused more on the building itself rather than the “sea of cars” associated with most vehicle sales facilities. Instead, it will have a single row of inventory cars in front of the building and then more stored behind the building. The planned monument sign for the property would also be 10 feet tall, instead of the standard 20 feet.
Calderon said the project is consistent with adjacent uses over a long, adjacent stretch of East 96th Street, which is home to more than a dozen automotive dealerships on both sides of the Marion and Hamilton county border.
As a condition of Tom Wood’s plans being approved, city staff asked for an updated landscaping plan that adds more greenery around the site. Calderon said the car dealer was amenable to that condition.
The project was recommended for approval by the hearing examiner, with the matter expected to be considered by the Metropolitan Development Commission on Nov. 6. If approved there, it would go to the City-County Council for consideration.
The project was given support by the Greater Allisonville Community Council Inc. and received a vote of no objection from Nora Northside Community Community Council Inc.
This isn’t the first time an automotive dealership has been considered for the former HHGregg property. In early 2019, Chicago-based Napleton Automotive Group received approval from the Metropolitan Development Commission for a new Kia dealership at the site. The company withdrew those plans in favor of going to a site on the north side of 96th Street, located in Carmel.
In March, IBJ reported that Indianapolis-based developer Citimark has largely converted the 30.6-acre campus to a 313,100-square-foot industrial park named 96th Street Commerce Park.
The company, which has already leased at least a quarter of the property, has invested about $16 million to tear down the iconic two-story HHGregg showroom on the north side of the site and separate the remainder of the previously connected buildings into three freestanding structures on the south, west and east sides of the park.
Jimmy Cohoat and Tyler Wilson, brokers with the Indianapolis office of Toronto-based Colliers International, are representing Citimark on lease negotiations for the remainder of the property.
A representative for Tom Wood Automotive did not return a call requesting comment.
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The building looks cool, and the use is proper, especially with the additional landscaping!
“City staff initially recommended denial of the rezone request.” Is there ANYTHING the city doesn’t deny, unless of course, it’s a Boss Hogg donor that’s asking?
This foot print was employing 450+ full time employees and now will employ like 30-40.
That would be the reasoning I would guess
The city staff acted upon the set of zoning rules enacted by elected officials for this parcel, as noted in the second part of the sentence you quote. Everyone did their job appropriately.