Plans for Santa Rosa Kia dealership move forward

<p>Plans for a new Kia dealership on Santa Rosa Avenue moved forward Tuesday, when the City Council expressed a willingness to abandon a stretch of South A Street. </p><p>Nissan of Santa Rosa owners Jim Bone and Lawrence Amaturo are hoping to build the county's first Kia dealership on the parcel, just north of their existing dealership. The site is sandwiched between Highway 101 and South A Street west of a triangular-shaped lot that is home to a used car dealership and a public sculpture. </p><p>Giving up public use of the southernmost section of South A Street would give the Kia dealership a greater presence on Santa Rosa Avenue, and would increase its space to display vehicles, planner Bill Rose told the council.</p><p>Korea-based Kia Motors is one of the fastest growing car companies in the world, with more than 730 dealers in the U.S.</p><p>The vehicles are already being sold out of the Nissan dealership. Plans call for a 12,000-square-foot dealership employing 20 people and generating $25 million in sales. </p><p>“We would hold to Kia's design elements and work with the city to make it the best possible building we can for the community,” Amaturo said. </p><p>The council's action did not abandon the street, but merely allows the Kia dealership to begin the request process, which will go to the planning commission before returning to the council.</p><p>But there was clear support for a project that proposes to turn an underutilized industrial area into a significant sales tax generator. </p><p>Former Santa Rosa city manager Ken Blackman, who represents the developers as a consultant, said the new dealership represents a “mini-redevelopment project” for the area.</p><p>Councilman Jake Ours and Mayor Ernesto Olivares agreed. “We've been waiting for something to happen in that little corner,” Olivares said.</p>