Auto sales a neighborly business

Sales Manager Dana Blankinship said Nissan mandates a new building regulated for safety in order to sell the electric car. For example, the chargeable car has to be serviced in its own enclosed service bay away from gas vehicles.

Nissan also is encouraging dealers to upgrade and renovate to be uniform. "The manufacturer is on a big kick for its dealers to have the same look and feel," Barta said.

With construction costs at their lowest and an existing facility built in the 1980s, Barta said, it was the "right time" for a new facility.

He declined to say how much is being invested, but according to the Douglas County assessor, the property was bought for $1.4 million. The dealership expects to add 10 to 15 full-time employees.

The new facility will double Nissan of Omaha's shop capacity and add an express service lane for oil changes. It will have a full automatic car wash, a media room with flat-screen TVs, a playroom for children and a gym for employees and even customers who want to use it while waiting for their car to be serviced.

The LEED features include an irrigation system for landscaping from a retention pond, motion-sensored lighting in offices and bathrooms and a car wash system that can recycle water, cutting water usage in half.

Old Mill Toyota will open near 180th and West Dodge during the first quarter of 2013.

The dealership, which has been at 601 N. 108th Circle for about 30 years, has "outgrown the building and the land," Burns said.

Construction of the new, 100,000-square-foot dealership is expected to begin by the end of this year. The current dealership is about half that size, Burns said.

Another push behind a new facility is the manufacturer. "Toyota wants us to have a new facility," Burns said. He said the manufacturer's image program will be beneficial down road because the new facility will bring increased sales and, in turn, Toyota will give Burns' dealership more cars to sell.

The move also will mean a name change. Old Mill Toyota could become Village Pointe Toyota, though the new name is not official yet, Burns said.

He said everything will be new, from the TVs in the waiting room to the furniture in the offices.

Though the details of the new facility are still in the works, Burns said the service center will double in size and staff, "adding another 50 jobs to the economy."

"It was long overdue," he said.

The Van Tuyl Group is a consulting firm that provides management consulting services to the largest group of privately held automotive dealerships in the United States, including Husker Auto Group in Lincoln.

According to a statement from Smith's family in February: "It was important that the buyer of our family dealership have good Midwestern values to carry on traditions of Roy Smith. Larry Van Tuyl, born and bred in neighboring Kansas, was a perfect choice."