#1 Cochran Infiniti Dealership in the Works for Pine

Pine-Richland area residents could soon be saying goodbye to the #1 Cochran Mazda dealership along Route 19 in Wexford and hello to Infiniti.

At Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting in Pine, #1 Cochran unveiled plans to level the 4,000 square foot Mazda building and replace it with a much larger 17,200 square foot Infiniti dealership.

William Krahe of Grand View Development, the company representing #1 Cochran, said the Mazda dealership would be transferred to another operator in the area.

#1 Cochran also has locations in Monroeville, Robinson, Allegheny Valley and the South Hills. It opened its first dealership in the North Hills at the former Billco Motors Inc. in May.

Krahe said #1 Cochran decided to relocate its Infiniti dealership, currently based in Monroeville, to Wexford based on demographics. If approved, the car lot would be the only Infiniti dealership located north of Pittsburgh.

“It’s a great market here,” he said.

#1 Cochran also plans to remodel its already-established Volkswagen dealership on Route 19, Krahe said.

Renderings of the proposed Infiniti building shown at Monday’s meeting detailed a glass and brick structure with a line of trees in front of it—and that was the problem.

Supervisor Frank Spagnolo said the trees would prevent motorists from viewing the cars for sale as they drive by the lot on Route 19. He added the landscaping could also block visibility for drivers pulling in and out of the dealership.

“Eventually, these trees grow up and get to be a nightmare,” he said.

Krahe said developers added the trees and other landscaping to meet the township’s code. He agreed with Supervisor Ted Owen that the amount of trees in front of the building would hamper the dealership’s ability to showcase the vehicles.

“I think it’s an impractical presentation,” Krahe said.

Spagnolo said he would prefer to limit the amount of foliage or have it moved to other locations around the lot.

Officials agreed and voted to table plans for the project in order to give developers enough time to resubmit new renderings with limited vegetation.

Supervisors are expected to vote on the plans at their next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7.

Krahe said he was OK with the board’s decision to postpone approval for the plans because developers still are in the process of obtaining permits for the project from PennDOT.   

“We have a little bit of time,” he said.

He said demolition of the Mazda building could begin by late fall. The hope is to have the new dealership open by summer of 2014, he said.