Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Ailing Auto Mall to Get a Saturn Dealership

PALMDALE —  A businessman has told city officials that he plans to build a Saturn dealership in Palmdale’s auto mall, bringing a welcome boost to the struggling commercial center.

Landing the dealership at the Antelope Valley Auto Center would also be a coup for the city: Officials of neighboring Lancaster also had sought a Saturn dealership for its rival 45-acre auto mall.

Currently, there are only five Saturn dealerships in Los Angeles County, a company spokeswoman said.

City officials identified the dealer as Jerry Lockhart, a Las Vegas-area accountant. He holds a letter of commitment for the franchise from the General Motors subsidiary.

In the agreement, the city will give Lockhart a portion of auto mall property to build his dealership.

“He wants to be open in Palmdale by Nov. 1,” Palmdale City Administrator Bob Toone said. The City Council must still sign a formal agreement on the deal.

At present, the 2-year-old auto mall has only five operating dealerships, with about half of the 65-acre property undeveloped.

Private investor William Royster put up most of the money for the auto mall project, with a portion subsidized by the city.

Two other developments also are in the works for the auto mall complex, located along the Antelope Valley Freeway.

First, the City Council on May 13 is likely to consider buying out Royster’s remaining stake in the project using city redevelopment money, Toone said.

Royster owns the mall’s 27 undeveloped acres of land and holds a share of the mall’s future sales tax revenues.

A year ago, Royster reportedly was seeking $5 million to $8 million for his share of the development.

In addition, Toone said the council also may be asked to approve a financial aid plan to help the mall’s sixth dealership, Grubl BMW-Subaru, which has been unable to open. Grubl nearly completed its buildings last year but then ran into financial trouble.

The city originally spent $2.6 million on the mall. In February, 1992, the city agreed to spend an additional $2.6 million: $1.2 million on promotion, $250,000 loans for each of the five dealers there now, and $180,000 to help maintain landscaping and other facilities.

When finished, the city hopes to earn more than $1 million a year in sales tax revenues.

Saturn, founded by GM in 1985 to compete against the growing tide of import cars, has about 250 dealerships nationwide and 30 in California, including Los Angeles County dealerships in Alhambra, Marina del Rey, Monrovia, North Hills and Torrance, said company spokeswoman Nannette Wiatr.

Wiatr confirmed that Saturn has planned a dealership for the Antelope Valley and is working with a dealer there, but said she could not identify the person until a final agreement is signed.

San Fernando Valley car dealer Bert Boeckmann, who owns Saturn of the Valley in North Hills, also plans to open Saturn dealerships in Valencia and Woodland Hills, Wiatr said.