BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:New Acura dealership celebrates

Acura of Glendale is celebrating its grand opening with a week’s worth of celebrity visits, entertainment, refreshments and presentations.

The festivities on Brand Boulevard will continue until Thursday.

Acura took over the dealership from Lexus in January 2005, but has only recently finished remodeling the business after a year and half of work.

“We just finished our construction, we just finished taking down everything Lexus and putting everything Acura in,” Fleet and Internet Manager Heidi Wang said. “We changed the entire dealership inside and out.”

The grand-opening events are meant to celebrate the completion of the entire dealership.

Super Bowl champion and former Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Jay Schroeder will be at the dealership to greet visitors and sign autographs from 1 to 3 p.m. today. Jockey Victor Espinoza, who rode War Emblem to victory in the Kentucky Derby, will attend the event from 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday. To conclude the week-long festivities, a Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. and jazz band Dirk K will follow with live music from 6 to 8 p.m.

“We’re going to have a lot of important Acura and city of Glendale people at the cutting ceremony,” Wang said. “It’s exciting to celebrate this new opportunity with everyone.”

The events are being held to not only celebrate the new showroom but also to initiate the business into its new neighborhood, Acura General Manager Jeanne Brewer said.

“We hope to introduce our dealership to the community who haven’t had an opportunity to meet with us,” Brewer said. “We hope to showcase our brand-new facility.”

Originally known as Acura of Pasadena, the dealership moved to Glendale to expand.

“We had outgrown our facility and we had a wonderful opportunity to move to Brand Boulevard,” Brewer said. “We have a state-of-the-art showroom and it’s a great arena to showcase our vehicles.”

While the dealership considers its move to Glendale a wonderful opportunity, so does the city of Glendale. Auto dealerships generate large tax revenues for the city, said Development Manager Dave Ahern.

The opening of the dealership also helps Glendale in various other areas, Ahern said.

First, it provides a wide-range of well-paying, blue-collar jobs for residents., Ahern said. Second, it supports other local businesses when it buys tires and other automotive parts from them, thus generating further revenue for the city.

“Their relocation is a sign of the strength of Brand Boulevard of Cars,” Ahern said. “They were attracted to it.”

The Acura dealership adds to $100 million in capital improvements to Brand Boulevard of Cars, where other dealerships have invested millions in new facilities, Ahern said.

FYI:

WHAT: Acura of Glendale grand-opening celebration

WHEN: Today, 1987 Super Bowl champion Jay Schroeder (quarterback, Los Angeles Raiders) will be at the dealership from 1 to 3 p.m. On Tuesday, jockey Victor Espinoza will be on hand from 1 to 3 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and jazz band Dirk K performance from 6 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: 505 S. Brand Blvd.

COST: Free

INFORMATION: (818) 502-1100gnp.acura.1.0725-CPhotoInfo1A1T7QQ120060724j2twftncCredit: CYNTHIA PERRYNews-Press and Leader Caption: (LA)A shopper eyes a new car at Acura of Glendale’s grand opening on Brand Boulevard Friday.