Toyota of San Bernardino Commences Expansion with Demolition for Dated Chrysler Building

On the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 30, Toyota of San Bernardino took a wrecking ball to the former Shaver Chrysler dealership as phase one of the dealership’s expansion and renovation plans. Demolition of the 25,000-square-foot structure is part of the dealership owner Cliff Cummings’ ongoing design to improve the San Bernardino Auto Center. Elected officials, members of the media and local residents joined Toyota of San Bernardino for a short presentation followed by the demolition and fireworks show. Construction on the San Bernardino property coincides with the recent transformation and grand opening of Cumming’s I-10 Toyota dealership in Indio that took place at 4:30 p.m. that same afternoon. This is the first time in Toyota history that a dealer has begun construction on one facility and celebrated the grand opening of another facility in the same day. “The old Shaver Chrysler building had been a blight on the auto center for years and I’m proud to bring some new development to rejuvenate the city,” said Cummings. “The redesigned buildings will take the auto center to the next level and provide an industry-leading experience for our customers.” Following in the footsteps of the Indio dealership, Toyota of San Bernardino will be renovated and expanded to reflect the Toyota Image II USA design, a national rebranding program working its way across the country to unify the Toyota image, maximize dealership capacity and add green building elements to facilities. The renovation will give the San Bernardino facility a modern look, while expanding the sales and service departments, and adding a second floor that will house the administrative areas. The old Shaver Chrysler building is expected to become a parking lot for the new facility, and the entire transformation is scheduled to be completed in 2016. “We’ve experienced a 30 percent increase in our sales this year, which is a positive sign that the economy is in an upswing,” said Cummings. “This is the perfect time to expand our facilities so that we can accommodate the growing market demand and ensure that we continue to provide the highest quality service to our customers.” Plans for the property also include giving the Scion brand its own building across the street. The former 37,000-square-foot Cadillac building that sits on 3.3 acres will be renovated and expanded to be the new Scion dealership. Construction on this building will begin virtually immediately and both buildings are expected to be completed in late 2015.