Rusnak/City reach expansion deal

Rusnak Mercedes has finally reached an agreement with City of Arcadia to expand its dealership after 12 years of negotiations. Approval is still required by the state, which will hopefully happen soon, and then Rusnak can begin its $10 million expansion, including a new 25,000 square-foot showroom on Santa Anita Avenue a block north of Huntington Drive, as reported in today’s Pasadena Star-News.

Rusnak acquires four properties a block north of Huntington Drive on Santa Anita Avenue for $2.8 million, from which the City will get about $266,000, the rest going to the state under terms of the now-defunct Redevelopment Agency.

The basic 10-year deal with the City guarantees a minimum of $800,000 in taxes per year to the City, or about the same Rusnak has been paying. But that number could increase significantly if sales improve dramatically with the sizable increase in the available inventory of cars on the expanded lot with a second showroom facing Santa Anita in addition to the existing lot facing Huntington Drive.

— By Scott Hettrick