The deal by which Upland will underwrite up to a million dollars of Ford of Upland’s costs to move from its current location on Foothill Boulevard to a larger site adjacent to the 210 Freeway was finalized this week.
A year ago, the council gave approval to the deal. At this week’s city council meeting the finalization of those arrangements was announced. .
The city’s subsidization of the relocation will come in the form of sales tax springbacks to the dealership. Thus, the city will surrender to Ford of Upland a portion of the annual sales tax revenue generated by the dealership’s sales of autos for eight years.
The dealership is vacating its sales lot within the 500 block of West Foothill Boulevard for a 5.5-acre spot on the north side of the 210 Freeway, east of Campus Avenue, where it will establish a 40,000 square foot showroom, office and service department building.
Scott Gunderson is the current owner of the dealership. There has been some criticism of the city’s giveaway of the sales tax revenue. It has been asserted that the location along the 210 Freeway represents an ideal spot for the dealership, given its visibility to tens of thousands of motorists daily and that Gunderson needed no incentive from the city to make the change.
Those supporting the subsidization point out that moving to the new site represents a $9 million investment by Gunderson in terms of acquiring the land and constructing the structure there. The sales tax springback of eight years duration will likely insure the dealership’s presence in Upland for a generation, it has been pointed out. Cars are large ticket items, and auto sales represent a major source of sales tax revenue for the municipalities that host them.
There is other concern about the dealership’s exodus from the Foothill Boulevard site for some residents. It is anticipated that the dealership will be replaced by a mixed-use development, including retail and offices on the ground floor and residential units in the second and third and perhaps even fourth stories above. It is also possible that residential buildings as high as five or six stories – to a height of 65 feet – could be constructed along the far north perimeter of the property, abutting existing single story housing along 13th Street. The city’s proposed new general plan allows building of that intensity along the Foothill Boulevard corridor.