Main
COLLIER COUNTY
INSIDE
13 September 2024
Even with the number of vehicles on area roadways increasing rapidly as Collier County’s population grows, it’s still remarkable how many automotive dealerships have expansion plans in the Naples area. Local dealerships co-owned by affiliates of Terry Taylor, a West Palm Beach man believed to be the nation’s largest private owner of auto dealerships, are behind some of the latest expansion plans here. The conglomerate plans to move Rolls-Royce of Naples and Volkswagen of Naples from shared spaces in Naples and East Naples, respectively, into their own freestanding dealerships nearby. A small retail strip on U.S. 41 North is destined for dem- Naples sends Rolls-Royce dealer back to drawing board PAGE 10A olition for a 20,325-square-foot Rolls-Royce dealership (see related sidebar story), which has operated in a neighboring cluster of luxury dealerships that includes Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover and Maserati. Terry Taylor’s TT of Naples acquired the adjacent more than 60-year-old retail center for $8.5 million in October 2021. Upon completion of the new building, the Rolls-Royce dealership will move to 710 Ninth St. N., where it will continue to provide new and pre-owned vehicle sales, as well as service and repair of vehicles. In East Naples, plans are in motion to separate the Volkswagen dealership from the Airport-Pulling Road property it shares with Audi Naples while relocating VW about half a mile away northeast, around the corner onto Radio Road. That’s according to Brian Massoll, managing partner of Audi Naples, Volkswagen of Naples, Naples Acura and Naples Infiniti. The new 36,632-square-foot VW dealership will be built on 4.7 acres at 3600 Radio Road. Plans show a mezzanine, showroom, service offices, customer lounge, retail and parts areas and service/alignment bays. “It will be a really modern facility with very nice amenities. We are excited to elevate our clients’ experience in this beautiful new state-of-the-art facility,” said Massoll, who anticipates the project getting off the ground this fall. “We expect the Volkswagen project to start loosely in October,” he said. “The initial project was slated for a March 2020 start date. We are a little bit behind schedule and regrouped and reorganized.” The dealerships have kept their new inventory behind a wall at this off-site Radio Road property, which includes a building for detailing vehicles. The detailing facility will remain but will be modified for the new dealership. “Once Volkswagen is complete, we will begin renovations on Audi’s exclusive site on Airport Road,” Massoll said. “This is a multi-year project for the two facilities.” Plans are still being created for the expanded Audi showroom at 601 Airport Road S., across from Naples Airport. “It will be a modification and expansion of our existing site,” Massoll said. The dealerships will continue to have off-site storage of vehicles nearby, he said. Less than a mile east of the future Volkswagen dealership, Tesla Inc. is building a...