BizBeat: Joe Machens renovation underway

BizBeat Car Lot
Mark Wilson/News Tribune
Demolition work continues at 824 Southwest Blvd. next to Joe Machens Ford Tuesday.
BizBeat Car Lot Mark Wilson/News Tribune Demolition work continues at 824 Southwest Blvd. next to Joe Machens Ford Tuesday.

A long-delayed project to renovate part of the Joe Machens' Capital City Ford dealership at 807 Southwest Blvd. has finally commenced in swift fashion.

Joe Machens began demolition of four buildings on adjacent lots at 816 Southwest Blvd. and 820 Southwest Blvd. around Oct. 4. By last Tuesday, the last of the buildings had been cleared from the site, General Manager Tom Stegeman said.

Joe Machens got approval last April from the Jefferson City Council to pave a lot at 824 Southwest Blvd., where its pre-owned vehicles sit. Stegeman said at the time they were in phase one of a two-year project to renovate Joe Machens' campus on Southwest Boulevard.

Stegeman said this week that Joe Machens had planned to move forward last year but hit delays as it worked with Jefferson City and Ford.

Phase two will renovate the dealership's Quick Lane maintenance center. The third and fourth phases will rebuild the dealership's used-car showroom and main showroom.

Stegeman said he does not know when those projects will move forward.

"Getting those projects in place is a bit of a problem because we're working with the people in Jeff City, Ford and Quick Lane," Stegeman said. "That won't happen immediately."

Jefferson City approved demolition permits for the lots at 816, 820 and 824 Southwest Blvd. on Oct. 1. Joe Machens demolished a home that once housed the David Jaeger Farmers Insurance office at 824 Southwest Blvd. A small brown building that once housed leasing operations for the nearby De Ville Southwest apartments also was demolished, Stegeman said.

Joe Machens also demolished a small building that housed offices for its pre-owned dealership, he said. The company hopes the site will be cleared and repaved before asphalt plants close for the winter. If the parking lot is not repaved this winter, the lot extension will have a gravel parking lot.

In the short term, Joe Machens plans to use the space for new and pre-owned inventory. The extra space will help the company develop a better plan for later stages in the revamp.

"That will give us some flexibility," Stegeman said. "We're pretty much land-locked, and that will give us the opportunity to re-do some things."

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