The Rivera Auto Group, Inc., headed by former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, has made a pitch for Mount Kisco to approve a site plan and special permit application so it can open a new service center at 353 N. Bedford Road.
At the same time, it is seeking approval to modernize its showroom and sales center at 325 N. Bedford Road.
Rivera, a White Plains resident who was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, generally is considered to have been the sport’s greatest professional relief pitcher. He was with the Yankees from 1995 to 2013.
In the summer of 2015, Rivera Auto Group Inc. opened Rivera Toyota and Scion of Mount Kisco at 325 N. Bedford Road. Presently operating as Rivera Toyota, it has existing offsite vehicle service locations at 227 and 255 Kisco Ave. in the village. Those locations will be closing in Dec. 2023 when the lease expires.
The company has a contract to buy the site at 325 N. Bedford Road, which formerly operated as a burger restaurant. It would demolish the existing restaurant building and construct a new two-story service center that would encompass 12,616 square feet. The center would have eight service bays, an enclosed drop-off portal for customer use, customer waiting areas and parts storage. Vehicle sales would not take place at the site.
Rivera Auto Group also is seeking approvals from Mount Kisco for making inside improvements at the 325 N. Bedford Road showroom and sales center while creating a new facade for the building.
Attorney Anthony B. Gioffre of the White Plains law firm Cuddy & Feder LLP told the Mount Kisco Planning Board that a study found the new service facility would generate less traffic than did the prior restaurant use, and that there would be no significant impact on nearby intersections or the adjacent roadway network.
Gioffre pointed out that while village zoning requires 39 parking spaces at a facility like the one being proposed, Rivera Toyota would be providing 42 spaces. He also said that all of the vehicle repair work would take place indoors, where all auto parts and wrecked or damaged vehicles would also be stored.
He added that the proposed site layout and traffic circulation patterns were changed as a result of comments received from the Planning Board, village staff and consultants over the summer.
The drop-off portal was moved from the southern side of the building to the northern side. Customers would be able to drive in using either the proposed northern or southern driveways and go to the drop-off area where the vehicle would be turned over to an employee. The vehicle then would be driven out the rear of the drop-off portal to a service bay in the back of the building.
The Planning Board voted to designate itself as the lead agency for an environmental review of the proposal. It also scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for Nov. 9.
Ken Hicks, who is Rivera’s business associate and the dealer principal at Rivera Toyota, told the Business Journal, “We want to give our clients the best experience possible when they come in for service. That’s why we need a new facility, something that’s more convenient.”
Hicks said that access to dealer service has become more important for consumers as cars have become more complex and loaded with electronics.
“With electric vehicles and hybrids and all of the new technology, our mechanics are all certified,” Hicks said. “We’re a Toyota dealership so those are all master Toyota mechanics who work on Toyotas. If you go to an outside service facility, they work on a lot of different vehicles so they’re not going to have as much knowledge as our mechanics on that particular brand.”
Hicks said that he and Rivera are getting ready to open a second dealership in Port Jefferson Station on Long Island. They hit a home run earlier this year when the Brookhaven Town Board unanimously approved a rezoning for the 35,000-square-foot sales and service facility they proposed.
Hicks said that the anticipated investment to improve the Mount Kisco facilities amounts to approximately $15 million.
“I’ve been doing this for more than 40 years and building relationships,” Hicks said. “A lot of people think dealer service is expensive but we’re really not. We’re less expensive than a secondary service facility but that may not be the perception of the client, so we’ve tried to change that over the years. We use factory-authorized parts on the vehicles and they all have warranties.”
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