An empty three-acre property along Alpharetta Highway could soon become a major business hub for a top car rental agency.
Enterprise car rental company plans to redevelop 3.4 acres that include a former car dealership property at 10889 Alpharetta Highway and three adjacent parcels of land. The company plans to have continuous vehicle rental operations and keep up to 100 cars on the lot that will be for sale, said Steve Lowe, vice president of AEC engineering and planning firm.
The company is scheduled to present a zoning request to the Roswell City Council on Aug. 9. The land is already zoned for heavy commercial use. Enterprise will ask for conditional use for used car sales.
Lowe and Tony Kephart, vice president of operations of Daily Rental at Enterprise Holdings, discussed details with the Planning Commission Tuesday. The commission recommended the council approve the rezoning request.
Enterprise will likely close an office at Palisades office park in Dunwoody and smaller locations to move staff to the new site, Kephart added.
The business will be called Enterprise Auto Center, according to the rezoning application. Billy Giddens, facilities and construction manager at Enterprise Holdings, is listed as the applicant.
Enterprise plans to remodel an existing building, landscape the property and create a streetscape with a variety of trees to block the view of the cars for sale. Kephart said the company typically sells vehicles that are no longer used for leasing with 10,000 to 30,000 miles on them.
The 24,700-square-foot building currently on the property will include offices, a showroom for vehicles and space for auto repairs and car washes, Kephart said. The representatives didn’t say how soon the company plans to redevelop the property but Kephart indicated it would be this year.
In their vote of approval, the Roswell Planning Commission included the condition that both car leasing and used car sales operations always take place at the site. The officials said they didn’t want a solely used car sales business at the location.
“I’d like to see a company with a reputation like Enterprise there rather than someone ... just trying to make a go at it for a year or two,” Commission member Bruno Costanzo said.
Less than a month ago, Business Insider ranked Enterprise as the best overall car rental company.
The Planning Commission’s support of the project isn’t a guarantee City Council will agree. Last week, the council denied a request from a different business to open a used car lot at 11208 Alpharetta Highway in the former Discount Tire building.
Mayor Lori Henry cast the deciding vote rejecting that application, and commented that she didn’t want to see more car businesses along the Ga. 9/ Alpharetta Highway Corridor.
Phone messages left at Lowe’s office and Enterprise Holdings were not returned to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
