A Columbus automobile dealership will eventually relocate near the U.S. 31 and Interstate 65 interchange in Taylorsville, according to plans unveiled this week.
Hubler Honda, which acquired the former Renner Motors building at 3055 Central Ave. last year, plans to open a much larger dealership northeast of the Taylorsville Speedway station in 2020, Hubler Automotive Group representative John Haines said.
Construction of the new dealership on a 10.5-acre site east of U.S. 31 and north of Bear Lane will likely begin in the first half of 2019, Haines said after appearing Wednesday before the Bartholomew County Plan Commission.
About 15 new jobs will be created when the Honda dealership moves, Haines said.
With substantially larger service and detailing departments, as well as an anticipated increase in sales, the future dealership location will eventually create about 30 new jobs, he said.
Hubler has not yet determined what it will do with the property at the northeast corner of National Road and Central Avenue after moving to Taylorsville, Haines said.
It could became a different Hubler dealership or the site of a pre-owned car and truck dealership, he said.
The Hubler Automotive Group was founded by Franklin Hubler in 1961 when he purchased the Chevrolet dealership in Indianapolis where he worked.
His son, current principal owner Bradley Hubler, has been credited with expanding the family business to a dozen dealerships in Greensburg, Indianapolis, Greenwood, Shelbyville, Bedford, Rushville and Franklin, as well as Columbus.
Besides operating car dealerships in six Indiana counties, the company also operates a number of related businesses that include car washes and collision centers.
The 10.5 acres Hubler wants for the Taylorsville dealership is a portion of 72.57 acres of land owned by Snyder Franklin Richards, Snyder Charles F. Int. Revocable Trust and James L. Ogilvie, according to local records.
When the Hubler group expressed interest in a section of the property, they were asked to submit a development plan for the entire property to replace a plan approved in 2009 that was never followed, Haines said.
The new plan includes creating two commercial-use properties south of the proposed dealership. They would be 6 acres and 4.15 acres in size, appropriate for businesses such as retailers or restaurants, Haines said.
Use of the remaining 50 acres will be determined by the existing owners, Haines said.
On Wednesday, the Bartholomew County Plan Commission unanimously approved a revised preliminary plat that includes the Hubler plans. While a final plat will be submitted at a later date, it will only need to be approved by the planning administrative staff, Haines said.
The commission’s approval came with the stipulation that Hubler Automotive Group follow staff recommendations in developing their property, planning staff member Ashley Beckort said.
That includes the extension of Bear Lane further to the east, as well as the construction of a new north-south road — Hubler Drive — from Bear Drive north through the dealership and up to County Road 700N, Beckort said.
On Wednesday, Haines asked the planning staff to reconsider its request that Hubler Drive be constructed with curbs, gutter and sidewalks. Instead, he asked for only the minimum requirement of drainage ditches at the side.
Although planners also want curbs, gutters and sidewalks along Bear Lane, the Indiana Department of Transportation is considering their own improvements as part of a safety audit on the intersection of U.S. 31 and Bear Lane, Haines said.
Staff recommendations outlined by Beckort also include a pedestrian connection be extended from Mill Street in Taylorsville to the Speedway convenience store, as well as a landscape buffer that will help separate the land from nearby industrial property.
