THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 1996 TAG: 9606120538
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 48 lines
After more than a year of sniffing around Hampton Roads, Circuit City Stores Inc. thinks it has found a cozy spot for its used-car superstore, CarMax, in Chesapeake's Greenbrier community.
Tonight, the Richmond-based retailer is expected to unveil plans for a giant one-price, no-haggle dealership at the corner of Battlefield Boulevard and Interstate 64. The Chesapeake Planning Commission was scheduled to vote on the proposal in the City Council chambers at 7 p.m. The proposal, if approved, will then head to the City Council.
If CarMax gets the green light, it will likely begin building immediately, officials said.
``I got the impression that they were anxious to move ahead,'' said Dorothy M. Kowalsky, a planning coordinator with the city's Planning Department.
Circuit City and city officials have been dickering over the proposed site, across the street from Wal-Mart, since 1995. The retailer had to convince city officials that itwouldn't cause more traffic problems on a section of Battlefield that's congested and awkwardly designed.
``They could have walked away a long time ago because of all the difficulties in working out this plan,'' said Greg Dodd, an owner of Horton & Dodd PC, a civil engineering and consulting firm working with Circuit City. ``They like this site a lot.''
Revised plans call for shoppers to enter the CarMax lot from Battlefield, but they'll have to exit from another road off Volvo Parkway.
While Circuit City has an option to buy the 25-acre property, company spokesman Paul Rakov cautions that the retailer has not completed any deals in Hampton Roads.
``In regards to the Tidewater area, we are looking at sites in the market,'' Rakov said Tuesday. ``We have not closed on any deals for the area.''
If CarMax backs away from the Chesapeake site, it wouldn't be the first time.
In August 1994, Circuit City ditched a proposal to build a CarMax along Kempsville Road in Norfolk. Company officials were concerned by the irregular shape of the proposed site and questioned whether the giant used-car lot would be able to expand from the 12-acre site. ILLUSTRATION: VP Map
Staff file
Circuit City opened CarMax in suburban Richmond three years ago. by CNB