Nov. 5--Blake Snider has plans.

Right now, they involve opening a new Kia store in the Elk Grove Automall dealership abandoned last year by Saturn.

But up the road, the longtime local dealer who also operates Elk Grove Toyota Scion in the mall wants to branch out even more.

Within two years, Snider hopes to build a "state-of-the-art" Toyota-certified body shop within the mall. Beyond that, he wants to open another new car franchise in the mall, with a yet-to-be-named brand.

Snider already has the land -- 9.3 acres on the planned third phase of development for the Elk Grove Automall.

Such ambitious expansion plans are a sharp contrast to last year, when the recession, tight credit and plunging motor vehicle sales prompted more than a dozen area car dealerships to close doors.

Snider, however, thinks his timing is right -- for himself and Elk Grove in general.

"Hopefully, it's the right move at the right time," he said. "I'm hoping that we're coming in at the tail end of the bad economy.

"-- The good news is that the infrastructure is in place for the (third phase) of the mall. Lighting and streets are already laid out. So, as the economy improves, we already have a head start.

"Actually, when the economy does turn, I think Elk Grove is in a state where much of the important infrastructure is already done. We have a local mall, houses that have been built. I think Elk Grove is slated to explode when the economy takes off."

Currently, Snider is concentrating on getting Elk Grove Kia set for a Nov. 13 opening.

Snider is moving his Florin Road Kia operations from 3810 Florin Road into the mall site at 8480 Laguna Grove Blvd., which was the home of Saturn of Elk Grove before it abruptly closed its doors on Nov. 14 last year.

Snider said just purchasing the dealership site from General Motors -- financial terms were not disclosed -- was a challenge, with GM, various unions and other administrative officials required to sign off on the deal.

Brian Parker, who represented Snider on behalf of the Northern California Automotive Properties Group with the Sacramento office of CB Richard Ellis, said the Saturn of Elk Grove sale was GM's "first real estate transaction after exiting bankruptcy."

Before the sale, Snider said, GM stripped the Saturn store, selling off as many assets as possible. Snider said people are working frantically to get the new Kia site up to speed.

"As you can imagine, it's been a little crazy here getting ready for the opening," Snider said. "We're doing quite a bit. We're resurfacing the service and parts departments, putting in new equipment, doing some roof work, putting down asphalt.

"We're spending quite a bit of money, but it's worth it. "

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Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.

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