Left to right: W. Bryce Fisher, M.S.C.E., P.Eng., Facilities Manager; Patrick O’Regan, President; Sean O’Regan, President & CEO.
Canadian auto dealer takes a look at this facility that incorporates no fewer than four separate automotive retailers and ranks as one of the most unique facilities of its type in Canada.
Trying to improve upon something that already exists is usually far harder than starting with a clean sheet. Which is why the O’Regan’s Auto Mall in Dartmouth, N.S., ranks not only as a great example of automotive retailing, but a major feat of engineering in its own right.
By looking at it today, you’d be hard pressed to think that it could have once been a Home Depot Store. But then again, the story of the O’Regan’s Group is rather remarkable in itself.
Although it can trace its origins back to 1915 when S.E. O’Regan established a garage in Parrsboro, N.S., it wasn’t until the 1970s that we know today as the O’Regan’s dealer group really came into its own. When Parrsboro was bypassed with the opening of the Trans Canada Highway in 1962, young brothers Paul and Stephen O’Regan who had already learned the ropes at the family business, elected to pursue other career paths, namely teaching and engineering.
A high level view of the showroom at O’Regan’s Toyota Dartmouth, helps illustrate the sheer scale of each dealership.
Yet in 1974, after taking a break from teaching, Paul decided to open up a service station and started selling used cars. Brother Stephen joined him to run the business in the early 1980s. From there O’Regan’s grew into one of the largest automotive retail organizations in Canada. Today, the group owns and operates 15 stores, including General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Nissan and Smart dealerships as well as its own Green Light Used Cars superstore. Employing some 600 people and featuring its own in-house human resources department, O’Regan’s has also been consistently recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.
Yet with such growth, came the need for expansion and as the O’Regan’s acquired more automotive franchises and needed to upgrade others; finding suitable locations became paramount. The idea for the Auto Mall was driven primarily by a need to revamp the firm’s Dartmouth Toyota store, upgrade a recently acquired Nissan franchise, as well as finding a suitable location for its Hyundai dealership in Dartmouth.
“Dartmouth Toyota, which we acquired in 1987, was a successful store,” says Sean O’Regan, Paul’s son and current CEO of the O’Regan’s Group. “But with a need to upgrade, in line with Toyota’s facility image guidelines and limited room to expand on the then current site, we really needed to find a more suitable location.”
Space to grow
The Filling Station Café and restaurant is a highlight for many of O’Regan’s customers.
But looking for three sites for three different dealer franchises, even in a city of 60,000 souls like Dartmouth, options appeared to be limited, at least initially.
That was until a new development, designed for retail and residences began to take shape, on Baker Drive, close to Highway 111 (the Circumferential) and not far from Halifax airport.
“This was a prime location for such a development,” says Keith Pierce, General Manager at O’Regan’s Toyota Dartmouth and Scion “and it was a brand new park with good highway access and provision for retail stores and apartments. There was a Home Depot being constructed in there, but it hadn’t been completed. We heard about the site and thought it would be suitable for putting in three stores, so we contacted the developer.”
It turns out that Home Depot was willing to relocate, so a deal was made and in March 2007, O’Regan’s acquired the building and surrounding land.
“What we actually purchased was a 13 acre site,” remarks Bryce Fisher, Facilities Manager for O’Regan’s and the engineer who oversaw the project. “Out of that, some 10 acres was useable. The building itself is 3.2 acres and the rest of the space was for parking/access.”
Although it was a newly completed building, the facility required extensive reworking to convert it from a giant hardware store to a host location for multiple automotive retailers.
“We used the original column spacing to delineate each of the four facilities which would eventually occupy it,” says Fisher, “these being the Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai stores, as well as Green Light Used Cars.”
In the service bays of each store, installing in-ground hoists and the necessary drainage required the original floor to be excavated and removed.
Extensive Overhaul
Needless to say, beyond the actual columns and basic structure, virtually everything else was changed, including the floors. “Because each facility needed service bays, the floor required extensive modification,” says Fisher. “We have 40 service bays in all and with provisions for in-ground hoists and drainage required for each one, including slush and salt removal, we needed to rip out the old floor and install a new one.”
To do that, a framework using massive steel jacks was employed to lift the building’s existing structural columns to dig underneath. Excavating teams dug out the old footings and cleared space for the hoists and drainage channels. In total, some 60 columns were lifted and at its peak 140 tradespeople were involved in the process. “It was a major feat,” says Fisher. “We brought new concrete in and re-set for the new floor. We were able to work on lifting and repositioning two columns per day, so in the end, you could say that we virtually had it down to a science.”
If that isn’t impressive enough; the work to the roof and the exterior of the building was yet another mammoth task. “The only aspects of the original Home Depot building that remain are the columns and other structural members,” says Fisher. “The front wall of the building was completely removed and the roof, although retained, was extensively modified. The new store fronts for each individual dealership were also staggered.”
Not only does this provide obvious distinction between each of the dealerships, it also serves to improve visibility from the nearby highway. “The Hyundai dealership sticks out furthest,” says Keith Pierce, “followed by Nissan, Green Light and then Toyota, which is closest to the street. It really helps separate the stores and demonstrate to customers that although linked, each dealership is very much its own entity.”
Steely Resolve
In 2008, the O’Regan’s Auto Mall received an Award of Excellence from the Eco Efficiency Centre. Being presented with the award (right) is Patrick O’Regan, President of HRM for the group.
Yet in order to configure the roof for the staggered front walls, sections and decking needed to be removed and in some cases, added on. “Of the sections we cut away, we saved the steel joists and reused them,” says Fisher. “The Toyota service area was extended so we configured the roof of the Toyota drive through area using the same structural steel as the rest of the building.”
Additionally, although each of the stores are linked by the roof structure, they have separate outside walls and due to the spacing of the original columns, driveways between them were incorporated. “There’s actually 46 feet between each store,” says Fisher, “which is about as wide as a residential street. It allows us to park cars nose in and still allow space for two-way traffic. It works great because it allows both sales and service customers to be protected from the weather when taking test drives, dropping off or picking up their vehicles. It also enables service advisors and service managers to easily inspect cars as they come in. Which is especially handy during our Nova Scotia winters.”
Reuse and Recycle
Sean O’Regan is current CEO and President of the O’Regan’s group.
What’s also amazing, is that despite the original building being radically modified, some 80 per cent of the materials from the Home Depot were reused for the Auto Mall including most of the electrical equipment. “We adapted a lot of the existing electrical panels and switchgear,” says Fisher “and have standby generators that cover all emergency power.” The electrical system uses a single service, with conduits to distribute power to each store.
As for plumbing, extensive modifications needed to be made under the floor to allow provisions for each individual store, especially considering the need for features such as washrooms, sprinklers and car washing/detailing. “It’s all run off a single meter,” says Fisher, “there’s also heaters in the system to prevent pipes from fracturing during really cold weather.”
The roof was also configured to allow up to three inches of rainwater to collect, which is then funneled through a filtration system to a man made lake on the edge of the property and ultimately, nearby wetlands. “That way it doesn’t run into the lake,” says Sean O’Regan. “From the outset, the environmental impact of the facility was carefully considered.” In fact, upon opening, the facility was the recipient of a 2008 Eco Energy award for sustainability.
Besides all this, a great deal of attention was paid to ensure each store provided a pleasant environment, both for customers and staff. “There’s a lot of natural lighting. We cut skylights into the roof. Not only does it improve the ambiance it also helps save on electricity,” says Keith Pierce.
Sound Ideas
Comfort and acoustics were another major consideration. “At our Toyota Halifax store, we were the first dealership in Canada to have a fully air conditioned service shop and panels to absorb noise from impact guns, wrenches and vehicles. During the development and construction phase of the Auto Mall, that was a primary consideration,” says Fisher.
“The entire structure is air conditioned and the sound absorbing materials [with two-inch thick panels lining the walls of each store] provide for a fairly quiet shop working environment.” Clearly it’s proved beneficial, since opening, the O’Regan’s Auto Mall has boasted one of the lowest turnovers of technicians and service staff in Canada.
Looking at the Auto Mall today, it’s almost hard to imagine it was once slated to be a big box superstore. What’s even harder to imagine, is that the entire project, from start to finish, took around 15 months and managed to not only come in on time, but on budget as well. “We acquired the building and land in March,” says Keith Pierce “ and by December the Hyundai store was already in.” Credit that to an immense amount of planning and highly efficient working practices. “We started out with one big project, and then, allocated separate projects for each of the individual stores,” says Fisher. “Because it was such a big project, we had two site supervisors coordinating multiple jobs, yet it worked out really well.”
Besides the four stores, the O’Regan’s Auto Mall, also houses the company’s corporate offices, which occupy some 10,000 square feet. There’s also an on-site café and restaurant, which make the location as much a destination as a vehicle shopping centre, especially given the close proximity of residential buildings.
“The idea behind the Auto Mall,” was to provide the total automotive experience,” says Sean O’Regan. “It’s a visible facility and with four stores, it allows customers to come and experience a wide range
of vehicles, without having the need to drive all
over town. If they’re looking for a used car, it’s here; if they’re looking for new, it’s here. The available space we had on the site for adding parking has
really been a huge benefit.”
Keith Pierce adds; “we’re really proud of the Auto Mall. It’s become an area landmark. “People love coming here to buy and service their vehicles and we love working here. It’s a unique facility and simply a great place to be.”
