Napleton plans Kia dealership for Carmel

Napleton Automotive Group, the Chicago-based dealership with a national footprint, has filed plans to build a new Kia dealership near 96^th Street in Carmel, across the street from a vacant HHGregg store it had previously sought to replace.

Instead, Napleton Carmel Imports, doing business as Napleton Kia of Carmel, has proposed building the dealership on a 3.74-acre parcel northeast of the intersection of Randall Drive and 96^th Street.

The parcel is owned by DYC Realty LLC, but Napleton has a contract to purchase it.

The dealership would be 24,351 square feet, according to plans submitted to the city of Carmel. Documents do not indicate how much Napleton plans to spend constructing the dealership. A Napleton representative told IBJ it's too early to estimate how much the dealership will cost to build. 

Napleton already has existing Kia, Hyundai and Fiat dealerships along the 96^th Street corridor, which is deluged with car dealerships.

Napleton Automotive Group entered the Indianapolis-area market with a big splash in late 2017, buying most of Butler Automotive Group's area dealerships. The former Butler dealerships now carry the Napleton name, including a Napleton Kia of Carmel with an 11,000-square-foot building located southeast of the intersection of East 96th Street and Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis, and Napleton Kia of Fishers northwest of the intersection of State Road 37 and East 135th Street.

The Napleton Kia of Carmel would close and move into the new space, a Napleton representative told IBJ. While Napleton owns the franchise, it does not own the real estate where it operates now.  

The automotive company this month filed applications with Carmel for development plan approval and architecture design, lighting, landscaping and signage approval. Both applications need to be heard by the plan commission, which will likely take place July 16. 

The proposed Carmel site is across 96^th Street from the now-defunct HHGregg, which Napleton had expressed interest in purchasing and redeveloping for a Kia dealership.  

Napleton Acquisitions LLC on Jan. 10 received preliminary approval from Indianapolis' Metropolitan Development Commission Hearing Examiner for a zoning change to the 28.6-acre property at 4151 E. 96th St. that would allow for automobile, motorcycle and light vehicle sales, as well as vehicle rental and repair.

Later, a representative of Napleton Automotive told IBJ it was no longer pursuing that project.

In a move apparently unrelated to development of the Kia dealership, Napleton is also buying an undeveloped 2.03-acre parcel nearby owned by Wood Auto Park LLC. It has requested that the Board of Zoning Appeals approve an amendment to 20-year-old commitments governing the land that prevent an automobile dealership from operating on the parcel. The BZA next meets June 24.