Thursday, December 03, 2009
Shelor automotive entity buys former Salem auto-lot site
The lot's ex-owners have retooled the business since leaving Salem.
The latest from The Ticker blog
A prime location in the heart of Salem's bustling commercial stretch, formerly occupied by an auto dealership, will not be redrafted to sell cars, according to its new owners.
The 8-acre property in the 1800 block of West Main Street, against Hurt Lane, was most recently the site of Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi, and it sits across from Walmart. Shah Development, an arm of the Shelor automotive group, purchased it last month for $3.7 million.
"We don't have any plans to open up a car lot there," executive Larry Shelor said Tuesday. "Right now we're formulating our plans."
The property has been listed for sale, he said. Barring that, he speculated it might become a shopping center.
"We more than likely will end up developing it ... breaking it up into rental units," Shelor said.
Meanwhile the former owners continue to modify their business.
Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi relocated from Salem to Franklin Road in Roanoke in February, settling at a space roughly one-third the size of its former site. Three weeks after the move, it reported an increase in business, but since then the company has opted out of much of its sales interests.
The company said it still sells and services some imports, but it has stopped selling Mitsubishis.
"Pound for pound, we're doing as good as anybody out there," Sarmadi said. "It still is not good enough, worldwide. Every dealership I've talked to, their business is down. But our service has grown."
He said repairing luxury imports, such as Infiniti, BMW and Volvo, gives his business an edge.
Sarmadi's Mistubishi franchise, meanwhile, found a buyer about two months ago: Shelor.
Larry Shelor said the company will only sell and service Mitsubishis at its Christiansburg location, but it hopes to attract business from areas beyond the New River Valley.
In terms of the Mitsubishi franchise, however, he added, "We're not going to have a physical presence in Roanoke."
