Murrieta soon could be home to one of the largest CarMax auto dealerships in the west.
The city’s Planning Commission on Wednesday, July 8 is scheduled to consider an application by the Richmond, Va.-based company to build the dealership on 38 acres at the corner of Guava Street and Madison Avenue.
The facility will be able to handle both the purchase of a 2006 Civic for a newly-minted high school graduate and wholesale auctions of used cars.
The plans call for around 100,000-square-feet of structures on the land and parking lots. An average CarMax location ranges in size from 15,000-45,000 square feet, according to company officials.
Michelle Ellwood, a CarMax spokeswoman, said the Murrieta location would be one of the company’s larger facilities.
“No grand opening date has been announced at this time, but our teams continue to work with local officials on the planning of this location,” she said in emailed statement. Ellwood said last year that a typical CarMax employs from 50 to 100 people.
The city helped push the project forward last year when it sold 10 acres to the company. The business still needs to secure a conditional use permit and a general plan amendment.
The commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in City Hall, 1 Town Square. The Planning Department is recommending approval.
If the City Council eventually signs off, the CarMax will join the Walmart and new hotels in that region to turn a formerly moribund section of the city into a sales tax- and hotel tax-generating powerhouse.
The closest CarMax locations for Southwest Riverside County residents right now are in Riverside and Escondido.
The largest proposed structure on the site is a 60,000 square-foot service center that will be used to service cars prior to sale. There also will be another service center to handle retail vehicles purchased off-site.
Retail sales transactions will be conducted in a 10,000-square-foot showroom and auctions will be handled in a 12,000-square-foot facility.
Of the chain’s 140 plus locations, around 60 are equipped to handle auctions, which allow the company to sell cars to licensed automobile dealers, Ellwood noted.
Contact the writer: aclaverie@pressenterprise.com, 951-368-9698, @PE_Claverie