On the move
Bob Howard Mercedes is moving to Edmond, marking the end of auto dealerships along Automobile Alley after a century.
The last remnant of a century of car sales along Automobile Alley is set to end next year with Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City set to move north to a sprawling former Ford dealership along Broadway Extension.
The Mercedes-Benz dealership at 1225 N Broadway was teamed up with a Jaguar franchise as well until it was recently sold by its owner, Bob Howard, to fellow auto dealer Mark Moore at the request of the company that owns both Jaguar and Land Rover.
“We’re the last dealership downtown,” Howard said. “That’s not the place you want to be, as much as I like downtown. I love it here. I spent a lot of years in Edmond, too. Mercedes pointed out to us that some of the top ZIP codes in terms of net income are in Edmond.”
The new location, 14220 Broadway Extension, was built in the late 1990s as part of a shortlived experiment in which Ford established retail collections with no-commission, set-price sales. The local operation, run by heirs of city auto pioneer Fred Jones,
We’re the last dealership downtown. That’s not the place you want to be, as much as I like downtown. I love it here. I spent a lot of years in Edmond, too. Mercedes pointed out to us that some of the top ZIP codes in terms of net income are in Edmond.” Bob Howard, owner
used the sprawling dealership as the base of their operation for about two years before selling their interests to the automaker.
Howard bought the dealership in 2004. The sprawling complex with a main building spanning 65,000 square feet went vacant for several years until the opening of Howard’s Volkswagen of Edmond in 2003. The Mercedes dealership will move into a remodeled and expanded north half of the building when construction is finished in about one year. Another factor in the move is space — Howard’s downtown dealership sprawls across four blocks that include lots a block west along Robinson Avenue. A few years ago he petitioned the city’s planning commission to close streets that are between the dealership lots — a move that drew opposition from some neighbors.
“We’ve run out of room here,” Howard said. “They (the city) tried to help. They gave us some parking. But they wouldn’t close the streets. And there isn’t enough ground for what we need.”
The new Mercedes-Benz location spans almost twice as much land and building square footage compared to the downtown dealership. But Howard looks first at showroom display numbers (new 26 compared to 10 currently) and service stalls (new 42 compared to 24 currently).
The only question remaining with the move, Howard adds, is the ultimate location for the Volvo dealership, which he says will be determined at a later date.
Automobile Alley, then and now
The area known as Automobile Alley along Broadway began about a century ago with the state’s earliest clusters of dealerships with dozens of showrooms that included Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac, Rambler, Packard and Pierce Arrow.
A 1923 report by the Oklahoma City Motor Car Dealers Association estimated nine of every 10 cars sold in Oklahoma were transactions started along Broadway between NW 4 and NW 13.
Frank Bolen was going against the times when he built Benchmark Motors on Broadway in 1985 — a dealership later purchased by Howard and is now Mercedes of Oklahoma City. By then, Broadway was only home to a handful of dealerships.
Meg Salyer got her start pioneering in redeveloping Broadway with property purchases in the mid-1980s. At that time she saw no trace of what was dubbed “Automobile Row” back in the 1920s. The Automobile Alley name itself was coined as property owners, including Salyer, sought to revive the area from damage from the 1995 bombing of the nearby Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
“The historic reference of Automobile Alley really came from (architect) Rand Elliott’s research,” Salyer said. “You had the width of the street so wagons could be turned around in a circle. And you had all these buildings in the 1930s and 1940s that were dealerships. But back then, you only had the Mercedes dealership.”
Howard is looking ahead at how best to redevelop the downtown dealership. Howard has led in redeveloping dozens of properties in Midtown and adjoining Automobile Alley, including his landmark Buick Building at NW 10 and Broadway. It is there that Howard enjoys a generous view of the downtown skyline from his fourth-floor office.
He has the original plans by Frank Bolen, a car dealer who built the former Benchmark Motors in 1985. The building boasts a sleek, modern glass facade thanks to a renovation seven years ago
“We have engineers looking at it now,” Howard said. “Frank was an engineer, and when he built it, he set it up so you can extend the second floor all the way over the service department. It is adaptable. We think we can convert it into two stories very easily.”
With a generous amount of parking surrounding the building, Howard believes it might be an attractive building for a bank, retail, restaurant and offices. The property adjoins the future streetcar system and is across the street from the future home of Oklahoma Contemporary.
For Howard, the latest move connects his past and current business tracks. He spent much of his early years as a dealer in Edmond, then created the Bob Howard Auto Mall, joined it with dealerships in Dallas and Houston, and then sold his interest in that entity. It was at that time he bought the dealership downtown and started redeveloping dozens of properties in Midtown and adjoining Automobile Alley.
“When I left the Auto Mall to come down here, it was a big move for me,” Howard said. “And I was a little resistant. But now, I’ve been here 12 years and I like it here. And I’m still going to have this office. So I guess I can now have the best of both worlds.”