AutoNation Inc. is eyeing the Mariner’s Mile area of Newport Beach as the new home for its Porsche dealership.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based chain wants to split its Newport Auto Center and move one of the three luxury brands about half a mile up Pacific Coast Highway to a stand-alone showroom. The auto center, which reported about $208 million in sales for the 12 months that ended June 30, 2015, also would expand its Audi and Bentley nameplates into the space currently occupied by Porsche operations.
“They’re right down the street now, on Bayside and PCH,” said Russell Fluter, a developer who owns the land AutoNation is interested in leasing long term. “They need more space, and they want to build a beautiful new facility.”
Mariner’s Mile actually covers about 1.4 miles between Newport Boulevard and Dover Drive and is home to an eclectic mix of restaurants, offices and maritime-related businesses.
The commercial corridor recently saw a half-acre waterfront lot go for a little more than $9.5 million, or nearly $19 million per acre, according to CoStar Group Inc. records.
The three-story, 37,347-square-foot AutoNation Porsche of Newport Beach is planned on 11 lots—from 320 to 600 West Coast Highway—to be merged into a single, 1.64-acre parcel on the inland side. The new dealership would feature a showroom that can accommodate about a dozen cars, several outdoor vehicle display areas, second floor offices, a three-lane service facility, vehicle inventory storage space, and employee parking on the roof, according to documents AutoNation filed with the city’s Planning Commission for an Aug. 18 hearing.
The structure would not exceed 35 feet in height—renderings indicate that takes into consideration the views from homes on Cliff Drive on the bluff above the site.
The project also involves the demolition of six commercial structures, including a vintage Porsche dealership, European Collectibles, owned by Nick Clemence and Todd Wertman; La Tavola Fine Linen Rental; JustFoodForDogs; and TheCove shopping center, a small collective of mom-and-pop clothing and housewares boutiques.
The commission has yet to give it a green light, and is looking for “additional public outreach with nearby residents,” Jim Campbell, the city’s principal planner, wrote in an email. It also “wanted AutoNation to examine the possibilities of enclosing the parking proposed for the rooftop,” and “to re-examine the modern architectural design” of the proposed Porsche dealership.
The commission will discuss the project again in the fall, he added.
“I’m hopeful they’ll approve it, but it’s up in the air,” Fluter said.
“A few people didn’t like it because it’s bigger than what is there now.”
AutoNation is “refining the architectural plans and more thoroughly detailing the operational characteristics.” It plans to introduce updates to the community in the coming weeks as part of the project’s ongoing outreach, which started in the middle of last year.
Newport Auto Center is among the majority of the 188 dealerships in Atlanta-based Porsche Cars North America Inc.’s network that are in the process of expanding or upgrading their showroom and service spaces to take advantage of the automaker’s incentives, including extra vehicle allocations.
The changes came as Porsche ended last year with a record 51,756 vehicle sales, a 10.1% increase over 2014. The brand saw a 2.6% uptick during the first eight months of this year, selling 35,767 vehicles, including its Macan and Cayenne SUVs and the Panamera four-door sports sedan.
