Shults Chevrolet-Cadillac of Jamestown hosted a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday to celebrate the completion of its renovated vehicle facility on Fluvanna Avenue.
According to Tim Shults, the renovations have made the facility the most state-of-the-art in southwestern New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.
"Today is the grand reopening of the Chevrolet store that was built in 1964," said Shults. "It's a milestone because Chevrolet is asking all of its dealers to represent their brand with a modern state-of-the-art facility. We have 100 percent complied with that, and we're very excited to be able to bring that to the Jamestown area."
Article Photos
Pictured above are Mayor Sam Teresi, Tim Shults, Assemblyman Andy Goodell and Lisa Vanstrom, constituent specialist for state Sen. Cathy Young at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand reopening of Shults Chevrolet-Cadillac.
P-J photos by Dusten Rader
In celebration of the milestone Shults will play host to several special events and deals. For the whole month Shults will give $25 per car sold to breast cancer awareness. Friday is the beginning of the "Cell Phone For Soldiers" program, which General Motors is sponsoring. The program allows people to donate slightly used and broken cellphones. The slightly used cellphones will be refurbished and sent to soldiers abroad. The broken cellphones will be accepted in exchange for a credit phone card.
On Saturday the festivities begin at 9 a.m. with a barbecue that includes both chicken and pork that starts at 11:30 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m.
According to Shults, the renovations were made possible through the collaboration of many including General Motors and the Jamestown Local Development Corporation.
"General Motors incentivizes the dealer to provide a world-class facility," said Shults. "They send their architects to meet their requirements. And, sometimes the architect's plans call for some major redesigns because the facilities were very old. But, we wanted to keep the original structure. So 90 percent of it actually is the original 1964 facility. It was quite a compliment to the guys in 1964 who designed it, and to my father who built it. ... And, the JLDC helped fund the project with a $200,000 low interest rate 10-year loan."
The new facility offers new energy-efficient high-definition lighting, an open floor plan, a drive-in climate controlled service department that has room for six cars inside, an improved concierge service that employs retired area residents, a customer lounge with flat-screen televisions, a Cadillac center, work rooms for the sales staff, offices for the administrative staff, an upstairs kids room and an accessory room.
Mayor Sam Teresi and Assemblyman Andy Goodell were also present for the ribbon cutting.
"This is absolutely fantastic. This is another point of pride for the city, and another win for the city having a major operation like Shults choosing to stay, invest and expand in Jamestown," said Teresi. "I'm happy and proud to say that 'Team Jamestown,' including the Board of Public Utilities with providing incentives for some of the energy related improvements, and our department of development through the JLDC who helped us provide financing for the project, so the city is very proud of both fronts to be able to play a small assist to what the Shults family has done here. But, the real story here is that this is the anchor of the Jamestown auto industry. Maintaining this is the miracle mile of the greater Jamestown region because Washington Street and Fluvanna Avenue are absolutely critical. It generates a lot of traffic for other businesses. And, we're going to continue to work with the Shults family and others that are vested in our automobile district to continue to keep this the focal point of the region."
Goodell said he is also excited for the renovations as well.
"What I like about the renovation here is that it was also done behind the scenes," said Goodell. "They now have some of the most sophisticated and advanced mechanical equipment anywhere in the nation. People may not realize the level of sophistication we have in some of our businesses in Chautauqua County, and this is an example, not only in a first-class showroom, but all the way through the organization."