Is Principle Toyota headed to Collierville? Resubmitted rezoning request finds support

A local car dealership looking to relocate to Collierville went in front of the town's planning commission again with a rezoning request.

On Thursday, the Collierville Planning Commission recommended approval of Principle Toyota's resubmitted rezoning request. The vote was 4-3 with Chairman Gregory Cotton, Samina Virani, Tim Goddard and Jewel Jordan in favor of the rezoning, while Charles Green, secretary Jeremy Given and Heather Fletcher all voted against it. Alderman John Worley, a Board of Mayor Aldermen liaison for the commission, did not attend the meeting.

"I think it is a good project, and I think we miss the boat if we don't take advantage of it," Cotton said.

Principle Toyota wants to move its auto dealership at 7370 Winchester Road in Memphis to Collierville to better serve its customers in Germantown and Collierville, according to documents filed with Collierville. The property the dealership is looking to move to is just west of South Houston Levee Road between Poplar Avenue and Winchester Roads. The rezoning application is for 40 acres underlying a portion of the existing Gallina Centro Planned Development. The planned development outline plan pending separately requires a conditional use permit for a car dealership.

Collierville resident George Chism, a former Shelby County commissioner, voiced his support for the project.

"We could bring (Principle) Toyota here and they're not asking for a tax abatement," Chism said. "... They're telling us what do you want us to do to be a good steward to Collierville... This is a good thing for Collierville."

What does Principle Toyota's new rezoning request include?

According to an application, Blair Parker Design on behalf of Principle Toyota requested approval of rezoning two parcels within Gallina Centro.

The proposed rezoning is intended to serve as a transitional zoning district between the 109 single-home family development in Germantown — the Viridian project being developed by Boyle Investment Company — and the proposed Toyota dealership.

Principle Toyota's updated rezoning request is to rezone 17.22 acres in Gallina Centro from shopping center commercial to general commercial. The 17.22 acres is where the proposed Toyota dealership would reside. In addition, 22.10 acres would be rezoned from shopping center commercial to medical professional office. The proposed medical professional office zoning is south of the two Gallina single-family home sites and adjacent to the Collierville and Germantown border.

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The application will also add a 75-foot-wide buffer along the Collierville border with Germantown to provide a transition from medical professional office to the adjacent residential area.

The application said the goal of this updated rezoning and the accompanying planned development amendment application is to create a parcel of land on which a new Principle Toyota dealership can be developed, while limiting the development of the land between Germantown and the proposed dealership to help provide a more appropriate zoning transition.

Concerns about Principle Toyota's move to Collierville

Even though the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed the ordinance on the first reading during a Feb. 26 meeting, the board members agreed the previous rezoning request should have a work session to discuss further details about the project.

Principle Toyota had a work session with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on March 25 to discuss Principle Toyota's intentions on the undeveloped land between the proposed dealership and the City of Germantown's boundary line. At the work session, it was discussed that Principle Toyota would amend its request to add a less intensive zoning district and a landscape buffer between Germantown and Principle Toyota's proposed new dealership in Collierville.

Why Principle Toyota is looking to relocate to Collierville?

The proposed development site for the Principle Toyota relocation would be west of Kroger on Winchester and less than five miles of its current location. The auto dealership would occupy a proposed 75,000-square-foot building along with 8,600 square feet on the second floor.

Todd Lochner, general manager of Principle Toyota, said the dealership has 4,700 Toyota owners in Collierville, with 1,300 of them receiving service at the current Principle Toyota location.

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"We have a lot of our customer base in our primary market area, and a majority of them are in Collierville and they're spending their money in Memphis," Lochner said during the Feb. 26 meeting. "We would love to have it here and be part of the community as well as be a part of a better neighborhood quite frankly."

Abigail Kampmann, founder and CEO of the San Antonio-based Principle Auto Group, said during a February Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting that she has been doing business in the Memphis area for more than 40 years. The Principle Toyota location on Winchester has been at its current location for the past 20 years. Kampmann noted the dealership has spent several years looking for a new location and identified the Collierville site as the ideal site.

"We looked at a lot of sites and Toyota has only approved this site in Collierville," Kampmann said. "The reason for why we're looking to move is because our business is growing, and we want to be able to service our customers."

Lochner also noted during February's meeting the dealership's current location on Winchester has lost its appeal. "Let's be honest that area of Memphis is not the most desirable anymore, and Collierville is a wonderful area."

Lochner said if the dealership were to be sold, they would put it in the contract, that it could not solely be a used car operation.

What's next for Principle Toyota project?

The Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider the revised rezoning request on second reading and public hearing during its May 13 meeting. If approved, the third and final reading will be at Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on May 28.

Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Is Memphis Toyota dealership moving to Collierville? Where things stand