Cluster of auto dealerships planned for I-215 beltway

Friday, July 18, 2003 | 11:33 a.m.

A new cluster of car dealerships is planned in southwest Las Vegas, one of the founders of the Valley Automall in Henderson says.

Cliff Findlay, president of Saturn of Henderson, said he expects ground to be broken within six months to a year on the south side of the I-215 southern beltway at Jones Boulevard.

Findlay said that while the nearly 100 acres is not being developed like the Valley Automall in Henderson, he expects that eventually it could look like the cluster of dealerships between Interstate 515 and Gibson Road.

"It's in its infancy right now," Findlay said. "But instead of developing one 86-acre piece, the way we started the Valley Automall, it will be more of a cluster of dealerships."

Findlay, who is a partner or franchisee for Saturns, Cadillacs, Saabs, Toyotas, Hondas, Volkswagens and Suburus at the Automall, plans a Chevrolet dealership at the new site. He said other dealers who have committed to stores in the new location are Porsche dealer Gary Ackerman, who has a Ford dealership at the Automall, Pontiac dealer Pat Clark and Chrysler dealer Tom Saitta.

"It will be much more clustered than some of the other dealership locations around the valley, so it may look a lot more like the Automall," Findlay said. "But there's no ordinance binding them together the way we set things up in Henderson."