Wheels are turning toward development of the proposed Bentley Motors dealership in the Butler Boulevard area of South Jacksonville.
Civil engineer England-Thims & Miller Inc. submitted a site plan to the city for mass grading toward development of the 7.53-acre site at 7137 Bonneval Road.
The project requires several more steps to gain approval for construction, but grading the site is an initial necessity toward opening the dealership.
Executives of the British automaker announced in June that they intend to open a Bentley dealership in 2019 along Bonneval Road to sell the “hyperluxury” brand.
Prices start at more than $180,000. Car and Driver reports some are substantially higher. The flagship Continental GT starts at $201,225 and the Bentayga starts at $197,725.
It will be the first area Bentley dealership and the seventh in Florida.
Mario Murgado, president and CEO of South Florida-based Brickell Motors LLC, said in June he will operate Bentley Jacksonville, his ninth U.S. dealership.
He did not provide a date for opening it.
Murgado said the 25,000-square-foot facility will be visible from the Interstate 95-Butler Boulevard interchange and initially will support 25-35 jobs.
“I’ve looked at this market for a long time,” Murgado said at the June 18 news conference, joined by Bentley President and CEO Mark Del Rosso, Mayor Lenny Curry and City Council member Danny Becton, whose district will include the dealership.
Murgado said he began proposing Jacksonville to Del Rosso and his team more a year before and said he was sold on the area’s economic capability to maintain a high-end brand like Bentley.
Del Rosso said he views Jacksonville as a city experiencing tremendous growth and the right demographics to support a full-service dealership.
“We think the coupling of Bentley with a community like Jacksonville that’s filled with achievement and people that are achievers in themselves rooted in community was a natural fit for us,” Del Rosso said.
The Bentley store in Jacksonville is the first for Murgado, who operates Audi, Buick, GMC, Honda, Mazda, Infiniti, Cadillac, Volkswagen dealerships in Florida and Chicago.
“There are 38 dealerships in the U.S. and 50 states, so think about what that says about Jacksonville,” Murgado said.
