A landmark Burnaby car lot is closing its driveway to make room for a new condo and office complex.

The Morrey Saturn lot near Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue will become part of a yet-to-be named $70- million, 77,000-sq.-ft. development being built by the Appia Group of Companies.

Appia purchased the one-acre Morrey site to go with the surrounding three-acre block that the developer already owns.

"The growth of Burnaby and the price of land went up to a point where it's a better investment to sell," says Gary Morrey, co-owner of the Morrey Auto Group that operates the lot and others across the Lower Mainland.

Wayne Chose, Business Edge
Gary Morrey, co-owner of Morrey Auto Group, was busy with the firm's closing-out sale at its Burnaby Saturn dealership

The deal closed June 8, but Morrey leased the property back until the July 1 weekend.

Although the brands of the vehicle changed, the lot had been in operation since 1969. It was the first in a chain operated by Gary Morrey, a former mechanic, and his identical twin brother Lyle, a salesman, that expanded to six dealerships across the Lower Mainland.

"We hope to increase the volume of the Nissan (dealership) nearby and it just isn't economically feasible to keep the Saturn (lot)," says Gary Morrey, co-owner of Morrey Auto Group.

He says the new development reflects the area's changing landscape. Many residential towers now dot the skyline of the former commercial and industrial section, and about 12 highrises are expected in the next few years."

"I think (the Appia condo-office development) is great for Burnaby, especially this area," says Morrey. "Of course, we moved down here in 1969 and there was no such thing as highrises.

"Since SkyTrain came (to Brentwood Mall, located on the northeast corner of Lougheed and Willingdon) and the stations that are close by, it's developed into a residential area, which is like a town centre for North Burnaby. The big advantage for us is being able to stay here and service all the new customers (at a nearby Morrey Nissan site that is slated to relocate and expand.)" Morrey says he and Jim Bosa, president and CEO of Burnaby-based Appia, were able to complete negotiations quickly because they have known each other for many years. No other parties were approached.

The Morreys will now probably buy an apartment in the new condo tower "just for nostalgia reasons," says Morrey. "Just the idea that we've owned it for so many years and we still own a piece of the development."

Bosa, a member of a well-known family of developers headed by his father Nat, says he actually started discussions about the site with Morrey in 2000, but the development project was put on hold because of a downturn in the market and Morrey had no place to relocate.

Bosa resumed plans about a year and a half ago when the market revived and the area began to offer "a sense of community."

"It's becoming a popular area for people to buy condos and move in," says Bosa.

The development will include a residential highrise, small office building and retail outlets at street level.

Some shops north of the Morrey lot remain in operation on Appia land, so construction is still one year away. Appia has begun the permit-application process, says Morrey.

"The site isn't actually vacant until July of '06, so we can't start any site work or site preparation until then," says Bosa.

The Morrey Nissan dealership, the largest in Western Canada, is located on leased land across the street on the southwest corner of Lougheed and Willingdon. It will now relocate to a three-acre site at Willingdon and Still Creek Avenue. It's slated to be part of a new automall.

Last October, Morrey faced a fight of sorts with Burnaby city council after it invoked a covenant that prohibited the land from being rezoned for car dealerships. But Morrey successfully argued he had obtained an option to purchase 10 acres before the covenant was introduced.

Morrey Nissan and a Trev Deeley Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership will occupy part of the site at Willingdon and Still Creek while the rest of the land is still up for grabs.

"There's going to be seven acres available and different manufacturers and different dealers are negotiating to purchase it," says Morrey.

A Costco store, which has already been approved by Burnaby city council, is also going into the area, which still requires access roads to be built. Morrey says he hopes to move into the new Nissan lot within a few years.

He says it was important for his family to keep operating in Burnaby because of their long ties to the area and the city's central location.

"As far as the metro area of Vancouver, we want to be 20 minutes from everywhere, so we can deal with people from New Westminster, Burnaby, Vancouver, North Vancouver, Surrey," says Morrey. "Our plans for the future are to (allow people) to get in and out."

With the Saturn closure, the Morrey twins now own five dealerships across the Lower Mainland and a repair shop, also in Burnaby, and expect them to operate for many years to come. Their four sons serve as general managers of the dealerships.

"We're not selling any properties," says Morrey. "We're looking as far as the long term. For our kids to be in the car business, they need properties and we need to own our own properties."

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)