After 88 years at its crowded Broadway location, Wilson's Motorcycles is moving to a new building that the company hopes will become a haven for motorcycle buffs.
"We are going to make this a new experience," said Pat Cody, Wilson's owner. "People are really going to like what we are doing."
As the owner of Wilson's for the past 18 years, Cody has grown the downtown Fresno business beyond its 7,000-square-foot showroom. And although he added 5,000 square feet over the years, it still wasn't enough.
Rows of Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati, Aprilia and Triumph motorcycles are crammed inside and outside the downtown store. He stocks bikes and motor scooters from nine manufacturers.
The new building, about a mile south on Foundry Park Avenue near Highway 99, is 33,000 square feet.
"You could put the entire [existing] store inside this building and still have room," he said.
The project is expected to be complete by early March and cost $4 million. That isn't an easy sum to spend, Cody said, but it was necessary. He said that along with needing more space, he felt uncertain about his future downtown.
The existing store lies within the area designated for redevelopment by the city and Cleveland-based developer Forest City Enterprise. The multiphase project calls for homes, stores and other improvements that could be built using eminent domain.
Next month, the Fresno City Council plans to vote on a spending plan that could include $100 million for the first phase.
"I really couldn't be put in a situation of waiting to see what the city was going to do," Cody said. "I needed to start exploring options, and that's what we have done."
Wilson's was one of the few remaining businesses of its kind downtown. Nearby Jaguar-dealer Haron Motor Sales doesn't plan to leave. But many other motorcycle dealers are in more highly trafficked locations, including Clawson Motorsports on North Blackstone Avenue.
Cody said the new store will allow him to show more products and do it more efficiently.
At the existing store, he could only display a limited number of bikes. If customers wanted to see a particular bike in a different color, they had to visit a nearby warehouse.
That won't happen anymore. Cody can show more than 400 motorcycles, scooters and quads inside the new building. He also can display clothing and motorcycle accessories better and is creating an area where people can gather and talk about their love of motorbikes.
"This is going to be a place where people who do tours or who just love motorcycles can come and hang out," said Dirk Poeschel, a development consultant hired by Cody. "It is designed to be a social area. Pat really didn't have a place that was conducive to that."
The new building will also improve the buying experience for Cody's customers who come from all walks of life and include those able to spend $19,000 and up for an Italian-made Ducati motorcycle.
Along with growing his business, the 65-year-old Cody is also laying the groundwork for the company's next generation: general manager Gary Georges, 36, who will eventually take over the store.
Georges admitted to gently nudging Cody in this new direction. "This will really push us much more into the mainstream of the industry," Georges said.
The two men toured several motorcycle stores in California to get a better idea of what they are offering their customers.
"I know some of our customers are worried that we won't be a motorcycle store anymore, that it will look too pretty," Georges said. "But that's not it at all. You don't have to come in here with a suit and tie. We are the same store, just with more to offer."
Source: Fresno Bee-Clicky!
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