Reno Toyota goes up, not out with new dealership facility

Want to know how much things have changed in the Truckee Meadows? Look at Reno Toyota's plans for a new dealership facility, where vehicles will be stored in a three-story garage rather than spread across acres of asphalt.

"There's no more land," says owner Tom Dolan. "We had to go up rather than out."

The alternative to building up stretching the dealership across a couple of locations would pose management headaches, so the company decided to combine its current location with space across the street currently occupied by Reno Mazda/Kia. That dealership is moving to South Virginia Street.

As Toyota updated the parking requirements that new dealership facilities must meet and used its biggest SUVs as the standard measurement of space the plans of Reno Toyota required first two, then three, floors of garage space.

But the construction of a garage with space to store more than 600 vehicles presented aesthetic challenges for the dealership located along Kietzke Lane just south of Plumb Lane.

"I didn't want to build a parking garage on Kietzke Lane," says Dolan. "We wanted something that was going to be appealing."

Working within the stringent design guidelines provided by Toyota for its dealerships nationwide, the architectural firm BJG/ Architecture and Engineering of Reno found ways to soften the shape of the structure.

The indoor storage also will present a new experience for Reno-area buyers, although it's common in urban areas. Ryan Dolan, general manager of the dealership, says he and his father believe that the ability to shop for cars outside of summer's heat and winter's icy blasts will prove attractive to consumers.

With the new facility, Reno Toyota will have the ability to double its inventory.

Q&D Construction of Sparks is general contractor on the 294,000-square-foot dealership facility. Construction is scheduled to begin next month.

As part of the work, Steen Drive the street currently between the Toyota and Mazda/Kia stores will be relocated south of the new dealership.