By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — Anderson Automotive Group plans to build a new dealership at the southeast corner of Nimtz and Perryville roads to serve as the future home for its Kia franchise.
The company said building the facility on undeveloped land near Peak Sports Club will help it keep pace with the growing Kia brand, which is now sold on the Rock River Block on North Alpine Road. Construction is expected to begin in spring, and the city of Loves Park is providing up to $2 million in tax incentives to support the project.
“Kia has become one of our fastest growing brands, and it became clear this year that we needed a larger facility to keep up with the sales and service needs of our customers,” Rick Beale, chief operating officer of Anderson Automotive Group, said in a statement sent to the Rock River Current. “We’ve simply outgrown our current location. The new dealership will greatly enhance our customer experience and meet the Kia brand’s needs for decades to come.”
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The Kia dealership’s current home at 226 N. Alpine Road will be repurposed to support sales, service and collision repair needs at the Rock River Block, which will remain the home for Rock River Ford, Anderson Mitsubishi and Anderson Collision Center.
Anderson Automotive acquired Rock River Kia in 2003 as part of the Rock River Block, which included Ford, Hyundai and Kia brands at the time. Hyundai was relocated to 343 N. Perryville Road in 2010 and rebranded as Hyundai on Perryville.
The family-owned automotive business was established in 1970 and now includes 12 new-car franchises at five locations in Rockford and Loves Park.
It opened Anderson Toyota and Lexus, 4100 N. Perryville Road, in May 2012. The city also provided a sales tax rebate to incentivize that development.
“They already have a dealership here in the city of Loves Park and they’ve been very beneficial for us,” Mayor Greg Jury said. “Bringing them to Loves Park helps us out because again we’re the only community that doesn’t have a municipal property tax or a fire district tax. So we really work hard on bringing businesses into town so we can create that sales tax.”
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Loves Park incentives
Loves Park has agreed to provide a rebate of a portion of the city’s 1% sales tax generated from the new dealership as an incentive for Anderson Automotive to build in Loves Park.
City officials said the incentive also helps offset what is expected to be a higher cost of construction due to soil and stormwater detention requirements that come with developing the land.
The city will refund 75% of the new sales taxes for the first five years of operation of the dealership and 50% of sales taxes after that for a maximum of 12 years or a maximum of $2 million.
“We anticipate it’s going to cap out a lot faster than 12 years,” said Attorney Gino Galluzzo of AGHL Law, which represents the city. “We think it’s going to pay off within seven to 10 years.”
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The city’s agreement with Anderson states that payments would cease if the Toyota or Lexus dealership were to move from its current location. However, the company has confirmed it has no intention to move, and it made recent investments in those facilities that support that position, Galluzzo said.
The deal benefits Loves Park long term because it brings in new sales tax dollars, which the city relies on to provide services such as police and fire without levying a municipal property tax.
“The city of Loves Park prides itself on being a business-friendly community with little red tape and first-rate services to its residences, all while never levying any real estate property taxes,” Galluzzo said. “As such, we rely upon business attraction and growth to meet the needs of our residences, so they do not have to bear the burden of those services as part of their real estate taxes.”
The dealership must open no later than Dec. 31, 2025, as part of the agreement.
“They’ve been very easy to work with through this process, and being right out in front of Peak is going to be nice for them with the traffic count off of Perryville,” Jury said. “We’re excited about having them here.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas