Duarte : Nissan to Open Dealership

City officials say the Nissan Motor Corp. USA will open a Nissan dealership by March 1 and an Infiniti dealership eight months later on the site where Duarte Nissan, Isuzu and Suzuki went out of business last year.

Acting as the city’s Redevelopment Agency, the City Council on Tuesday approved a plan whereby Nissan will be refunded in sales tax rebates up to $1.8 million in site improvements. The first year, the rebate will equal half of all sales taxes in excess of $300,000 paid to the city. Thereafter, it will be half of all sales taxes over $500,000.

Nissan is buying the 5.5-acre site at the northeast corner of Buena Vista Street and Central Avenue from Robert Low, owner and operator of the three closed dealerships.

The sale has been opposed in federal bankruptcy court by Low’s major creditor, Tokai Credit Corp. Nonetheless, city officials said they expect the sale to be completed within a few weeks.