Cox Chevrolet eyeing a new dealership location. Some neighbors aren't happy
When contemplating where to expand his family's Cox Chevrolet dealership, president and CEO Kris Cox thought the best location was to go where new residents are flocking: East Manatee.
In adding to their 2900 Cortez Road W. location, Cox is considering "many properties" for a second location in the State Road 64-Interstate 75 corridor, he told the Bradenton Herald. One of those potential locations was spelled out in an Army Corps of Engineers permit application: a 17-acre parcel on the northwest corner of State Road 64 and 117th Street East.
"We're just looking to expand at this point," he said, noting that no development plans have been submitted to Manatee County and no land has been purchased. "What that looks like, we don't know."
The 17 acres off of 117th Street East has a total market value of just under $500,000, according to the property appraiser's website. When contacted by phone Monday, the landowner declined to comment.
The federal permit application asks permission to fill 0.7 acres of a freshwater tributary of Gates Creek and reposition it around the proposed site. The notice also states a request to fill 1.4 acres of hardwood wetlands and 0.57 acres of "other surface waters."
"Any potential issues will be addressed in the development process," Cox said. "We'll leave it up to those entities and agencies to make those decisions."
Some residents of nearby GreyHawk Landing and Mill Creek, when they found the mid-April public notice, were not excited about what could be their future neighbor.
Scott Jacuk works from his GreyHawk Landing home, so he doesn't have the same morning and evening commutes like many of his neighbors, who he said typically take 117th Street East to and from State Road 64.
He said he's one of many residents who are concerned about the plan in this particular area. He fears that it would "set a precedent" for strip malls and storage units that would "stick out like a sore thumb."
Brady Chapman, who also lives in GreyHawk Landing, said he doesn't think the dealership would "fit with the residential footprint of that area." Closer to I-75 would be more suitable, he said.
Among his concerns are light pollution, aesthetics of the area and how it could affect traffic on a state road that has seen at least three fatal crashes so far this year.
Chapman added that he would fight the proposal tooth and nail, although he was encouraged by the Cox family being so receptive to residents' concerns.
"If (Cox) wanted to open a top-of-the-line steakhouse, I'd be first in line," Chapman said.
Jacuk said he understands that west Manatee County has been almost entirely built out, and the natural progression is to build eastward. But these particular plans have been "all the hubbub around GreyHawk Landing," he said.
"There's a lot of open land in this area that we all realize is one day going to be developed," Jacuk said.
Cox stressed that it was "super early in the process" and that his family has been in the community since the 1920s and '30s.
"We're wanting to do it right," Cox said.
This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Cox Chevrolet eyeing a new dealership location. Some neighbors aren't happy."