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Davidson Ford will move today to its new location at 18621 Route 11, outer Washington Street.
Owned by Davidson Auto Group, the facility will feature a range of improvements, including solar panels and energy-efficient lighting and glass, as well as more floor space with an indoor delivery area for customers taking test drives. Indoor and outdoor charging stations for hybrid and electric vehicles will be available.
We were looking for more space for the shop and showroom, and this building is quite a bit larger, said co-owner Dwight E. Davidson.
Started in September, the project was completed by DC Building Systems, Watertown, and Hogan Engineering, Rome.
As part of the deal for the project, Davidson Auto Group purchased property owned by DC Building Systems, which has an office on the site that it will move out of this week. To accommodate that, Davidson purchased property in the fall for DC Building Systems to build a new office at 19138 Route 11, a $200,000 transaction. That project is also now completed, and the contractor will move to the new office Monday.
Mr. Davidson made an agreement with Donald E. Clark, president of DC Building Systems, for the contractor to do the work for the project as a part of the deal.
We looked for land that would be amenable for him to relocate, and he was willing to do it, Mr. Davidson said.
The contractor is also building a Davidson GM facility next to the new Ford store that is slated to be completed this spring. It also broke ground on a new Ford dealership in Rome, which is scheduled to be completed in the same time frame.
We broke ground on the projects at the same time, but we wanted to build the Ford location first because we had the plan and our lease was expiring at the old location, Mr. Davidson said.
Mr. Clark, who said his growing company had been seeking more office space, said the land swap benefited both parties. The contractor hired three employees in the past year.
Were a growing company that needed a bigger facility, he said, adding the new 29,000-square-foot building is nearly double the size of the old one.
DC Building Systems constructed the office building with design by Aubertine & Currier Architects, Watertown.