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Former Brown & Brown lot still has no permanent use
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In March, the owners of the old Brown & Brown Nissan dealership at Dobson and Broadway roads in Mesa said they could be within weeks of finding a new use for the land.
Today, the $1.9 million site and its building are still for sale and a lacking a permanent user. In the meantime, Florida-based AutoNation — which bought the dealership over eight years ago — will lease the land for at least six months to be used as “for sale by owner” dealership while it searches for a buyer.
Marc Cannon, senior vice president of corporate communications, is vague when talking about the behind-the-scenes talks with prospective buyers and said plans for the property is on the company’s back burner.
The Brown & Brown dealership, which was established in the 1970s, relocated to the new Chandler 202 Auto Park near the Loop 202 freeway and Gilbert Road earlier this year.
Wesley Hukriede said he’s inking a six-month lease on the land for his used-car sales lot. Called Wesley’s Show & Sell, Hukriede will lease individual spaces on the lot to private car sellers.
The business will occupy the entire Brown & Brown site, he said.
“There’s nothing planned,” Hukriede said when talking about AutoNation’s intentions for the land.
Patrick Murphy, Mesa senior town center development specialist, said his department hasn’t been in touch with the company on its plans but will likely approach them sometime toward the end of the year.
The area around Brown & Brown was once a vibrant commercial corridor, he said. As businesses like Brown & Brown and Costco began closing, the area fell into decline.
Murphy said the light rail, which opens along Main Street in December 2008, will reverse that decline as redevelopment will spread north and south of the line.
“It’s going to take some time but you’ll see that resurgence come back,” he said.
Chris Brady, Mesa’s city manager, said he’s not surprised to learn the company still hasn’t done anything with the land or sold it, but he said he won’t worry unless the property sits unused for years.
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