Summer 2007 Newsletter
Fairfield Auto Mall: An economic success story
Ten years ago, Fairfield’s Auto Mall was supposed to be a shopping center featuring a Super K-Mart. At the time, department stores dominated the City as the leading sales tax generator. But the City had a vision of creating an Auto Mall. From that vision arose an Auto Mall whose success led to new auto sales being the dominant sales tax generator.
The City’s redevelopment agency worked with Busch Properties, the property owner,
and auto dealers to facilitate the creation of Fairfield’s Auto Mall. In 2000, a master site
plan was prepared that relocated the street and adjusted property lines to create dealership sites.
Fairfield renamed the road Auto Mall Parkway, from Magellan Road. It renamed the
overpass Fairfield Auto Mall Parkway/ Chadbourne Road so that CalTrans would change the freeway signage, making the Auto Mall name more visible to drivers by. The City also created a sign district that would allow the dealers to have two major 45-foot freeway signs per parcel.
Some dealers relocated from other sites in Fairfield. Other dealers were new to the City.
The first phase car brands included Acura, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler, Jeep, Kia,
Plymouth, Dodge, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lincoln, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Volvo.
Financial Impact
An auto mall is a regional draw, increasing the number of overall car sales for a city. Because of its auto mall, Fairfield has twice the taxable sales per household for auto dealers/supplies compared to the Bay Area average. Fairfield’s New Auto sales tax revenue will have tripled in a little over ten years, going from 16% of the City’s sales tax income in 1997 to a forecasted 22%, or $4 million per year, by 2008. This shows how critical it is for Fairfield residents to buy their cars locally. Not only does car sales provide tax revenue to the City, but it also provides employment for Fairfield residents.
Exciting New Developments
The second phase of the Auto Mall is underway with the opening of the Ford dealership
and the planning of the Saturn dealership in Auto Mall Court, to the west of Chadbourne
Road. Saturn will soon be under construction. The execution of the third phase however,
was more complicated. The northeast end of the Auto Mall, beyond Hopkins Acura is
mostly undeveloped or blighted. In order to facilitate the deals and assemble the properties necessary to bring in additional dealerships, the City’s redevelopment agency had to plan for the long-term.
The Fairfield Redevelopment Agency purchased the old, blighted Economy Inn. This
property was a crime-ridden sore spot in the city, responsible for 600 calls for police service in one year. Its existence had a significant negative effect on nearby residents. The Agency paid to have the motel demolished so that a new dealership could be built. The Agency has sold the land to Golden State Mitsubishi and Suzuki for that company to build a new dealership.
At the same time, the Redevelopment Agency worked with Golden State Mitsubishi
and Suzuki to facilitate the sale their 4.5-acre parcel at Chadbourne Road and Auto Mall
parkway to a newcomer to Solano County: Van Housen Motors. Van Housen Motors will
build the County’s first Mercedes-Benz dealership.
This complex transaction created the opportunity for Mercedes to open the first luxury European car dealership in Solano County. Says Sean Quinn, the City’s Director of Community Development, “ As our sales tax dollars show, our auto mall is a juggernaut. By creating the opportunity for new dealerships to build in Fairfield, we are significantly increasing the tax dollars that will come into our city. The income stream will continue into perpetuity. This was one of the best investments we’ve made.”
The City has plans to continue to improve the Auto Mall. The older northeast section
will see the demolition of the old, vacant fire station. Utilities will be installed underground. The City will construct new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and pavement. There will also be new freeway landscaping.
“We can’t wait for additional growth to our auto mall. We are speaking with other
luxury car brands, letting them know about five other vacant parcels that are available.
They’re very interested in Fairfield because of our strategic location by I-80 and 680, our
freeway visibility with high traffic counts, and the fact that our City government is very
pro-business.” stated Quinn. “Stay tuned for further developments!”
