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Nissan shops for new dealership site

The company's interest in south central Pasco is part of a trend as auto dealers target the area as a key expansion site.

WESLEY CHAPEL - Here's another sign of explosive growth along the New Tampa-Wesley Chapel corridor: Nissan officials are considering a site in Wesley Chapel for a new automobile dealership - joining Toyota, which has plans to open a new dealership in the area less than two years from now.

"I can't tell you much about the dealership going up there," Nissan North America spokesman John Schilling said. "The paperwork is still pending right now."

Nissan currently has seven dealerships in the Tampa Bay area, including locations in Tampa, Brandon, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and New Port Richey.

The company's interest in south central Pasco is part of an emerging trend among auto dealers who are targeting the area as a key expansion site.

"There's a lot of wind swirling around that market," said Scott Fink, owner of New Port Richey Hyundai.

In its west Pasco location, the new dealership has jumped to the No. 7 Hyundai franchise in the United States since opening about five months ago, Fink said.

"Hyundai hasn't made any decision about that market yet but soon you'll see a lot of the dealers if not all of the major dealers out there," he said, adding, "I've snooped around Wesley Chapel."

At one point, the area was looked at for a 90-acre auto mall that fell through.

The Oakley Plaza auto mall was proposed for the western edge of Interstate 75 in November 2002. It promised millions of dollars in yearly taxes and 1,800 permanent jobs, most paying between $30,000 and $50,000.

But problems arose. Among them, in order to reach the dealership property, landowner Thomas Oakley and auto mall developer Metropolitan Properties Inc. wanted to put a road through a 10-business shopping center in Wesley Chapel north of State Road 54.

Plans for the auto mall stalled. Interest did not.

A marketing survey of the Tampa area - one of 17 metro areas in the southeastern United States monitored by Toyota - flagged Wesley Chapel for its growth potential, said Kevin Sreenan, a Toyota regional vice president.

Wesley Chapel's median household income is about $65,000 a year, according to the latest census figures. Toyota expects its new dealership, laid out on 9 to 12 acres, to sell 1,500 to 2,000 cars and trucks a year.