Incentives From Bristol Virginia Revs Up Harley Dealer

BRISTOL, Va. – A financial incentive package helped convince a motorcycle dealer to relocate in a partially vacant city shopping center, the owner said.

Charlie Cole, who owns Black Wolf Harley-Davidson in Abingdon, Va., and four other motorcycle dealerships, plans to close the local store and move into the former Beaver Creek Plaza next month.

The move, which was originally expected to be completed by January or February, has been slowed by a series of repairs and improvements to the center, located near Interstate 81’s Exit 5.

"I don’t know if I would have done it or not without that [incentive]," Cole said. "They [city officials] approached me before I bought the center, offering some help, which shows me the Bristol community is business-friendly."

Jerry Brown, the city’s director of economic development, said the incentives were important for another reason.

"He [Cole] still has quite a bit of his lease remaining on the facility at Exit 13. He has to pay that off, as well as making the payments on the shopping center at Exit 5. And this was property that was not being fully utilized," Brown said.

The Bristol Virginia Utilities board of directors approved the incentives last month, following the lead of the city’s Economic Development Committee. The money will come from a fund BVU has set aside for economic development, Brown said.

Cole completed his purchase of the retail center in September.

"The toughest time with a new development is early on," Cole said. "It has cost a lot of money to remodel the facility and make infrastructure improvements, so they [incentives] are very important to me."

Some of that assistance will be arriving soon.

"Once he [Cole] opens, he will get $25,000 in economic development funding to assist with the renovation of the building," Brown said. "We did that because it adds to the tax base for a building that has been vacant for many years."

After each of his first two years of operation, Cole is scheduled to receive rebates on sales taxes collected on the sale of parts, accessories, apparel and repairs, Brown said.

"At the end of the first year, it’s 50 percent of sales taxes collected, up to $15,000," Brown said. "At the end of the second year it’s the same thing – up to $18,750 or 50 percent of the sales tax collected – whichever is greater."

Tax collection totals won’t include motorcycles sales, because all those taxes go directly to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

Work has been ongoing for months inside a former Food Lion grocery store and the adjacent former drug store, but more visible signs of progress should begin sprouting soon, Cole said.

"We’re in the process of replacing the roof right now," he said. "We had a few leaks and that roof has been on 21 or 22 years. We didn’t want to do a lot of work inside and have it ruined, so we’re replacing the roof on the whole complex – not just the Harley dealership."

In addition to the roof, the exterior of the center’s buildings are scheduled to be painted and the parking lot will be sealed and re-striped, Cole said.

New signage, including changing the name to Black Wolf Plaza, is also expected to be installed soon.

In addition to the money, city leaders also agreed to a pair of sign variances requested by Cole.

Last year, the City Council and Planning Commission approved allowing a 50-foot pole sign to promote the business and a second ground-level sign listing the names of all businesses in the center.

"Would we have still gone there without the variance? Probably," Cole said. "But with the visibility issues from the one side of that exit, the taller sign should allow us to be more successful."

The Abingdon store is now expected to close about April 5 and the Bristol store is expected to open within a few days.

"We’ve never made a move this big, but we hope to be open by at least April 12 – the following Saturday," Cole said.

"We’re looking forward to opening in a better location with better visibility," he said. "We’ve got four vacant spaces in the shopping center right now. And once we get all that work completed – and they see the finished product – I don’t think we’ll have any problem filling them."

dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532