AutoFair Honda of Plymouth

PATRIOT LEDGER 12/10:
PLYMOUTH ? A New Hampshire auto dealer has broken ground on a 33,000-square-foot Honda dealership in Plymouth after buying a three-acre parcel overlooking Route 3 for $2.9 million.

The new dealership will be located on Long Pond Road next to the Home Depot Plaza. The owner, Andrew Crews, also operates the AutoFair Honda, Ford and Hyundai dealerships in Salem, N.H.

The parcel previously housed the offices of Memorial Press Group. The dealership is expected to open in May, AutoFair CEO Andrew Crews said.

Crews won a bidding process for the franchise that was sponsored by Honda in early 2008 and began scouting sites in Plymouth. The proximity of The Shops at Five and Home Depot Plaza made the Long Pond Road site the top choice, Crews said.

"With any retail sales, you're looking for traffic and visibility," he said.

He said he will hire up to 60 employees at the dealership.

Crews bought the property from Viking Development of Newton, which built the nearby Home Depot Plaza. The shopping center has a 98-percent occupancy rate and includes tenants such as the 99 Restaurant, Ethan Allen, Friendly's, Sleepy's mattress store and Hilton Garden Inn.

Viking Development bought the dealership property in 2007 and initially had interest from a drugstore chain before AutoFair stepped into the picture.

More commercial development could be on the horizon in the area.