Hawk Auto plan goes to Joliet zoning and planning boards this week

JOLIET – Hawk Auto plans to begin construction on a new dealership building on Route 59 in the coming months if the plans get approval from the city.

Plans for the site at Route 59 and Caton Farm Road go to the city’s zoning board and plan commission on Thursday.

The plans for Hawk’s Mazda and Volkswagen dealership would next go to the city council for approval, probably either at the March 20 meeting or at a meeting in April.

“If we get the permits, we will start right away,” Hawk Auto President John Crane said.

The Hawk project would come with a city incentive package worth up to $3.5 million in sales tax rebates to offset the cost of construction.

Crane had previously estimated the cost of the project at $9 million when the Joliet City Council Economic Development Committee gave preliminary approval to the incentives in December.

“It’s turning into more than that with some of the estimates we’re getting,” Crane said last week. “It will probably be over $10 million.”

Crane plans to move the Hawk Mazda and Volkswagen dealerships from their current locations on West Jefferson Street.

The plan that awaits approval from the city would put those two dealerships on 4.5 acres of land at the northwest corner of Route 59 and Caton Farm. Hawk would have an additional 3.2 acres available for expansion, another car dealership, or other commercial development, according to the staff report on the plans.

Hawk would put both dealerships in a 29,500-square-foot building with a shared customer service bay, according to the report.

Hawk needs a special use permit to put a car business on the site. He also is seeking rezoning of the site from residential to business zoning.

The land now is part of the Joliet Park District’s Wedgewood Golf Course.

Hawk has acquired the site under contract, although it currently remains under the ownership of the park district, according to the report.