COLONIE — The Village Planning Board approved an application by DePaula Chevrolet to open a Maserati/Alfa Romeo dealership at the old Progressive Insurance auto service center located at 1586 Central Ave.
DePaula initially proposed opening the high-end auto shop at the intersection of Route 7 and Mill Road but withdrew the application.
The Progressive building will undergo some modifications, including 12-foot wide entry doors.
Some points brought out by the village Planning Board, according to minutes of the meeting, included that deliveries will only take place between 7 and 8 p.m. during the week and between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the weekend. Used cars, or the cars people trade in, will only be stored onsite temporarily before being moved to another DePaula facility. The Maserati/Alfa Romeo brand restricts what types of used cars can be sold at the same location.
There will also be lifts installed towards the rear of the building to work on the vehicles. One stipulation is the bay doors will be closed when vehicles are being serviced.
The board requested a map of the routes salesmen will take prospective buyers on when they take test rides and a representative from DePaula told the board the plan it to have them take a right hand turn out of Progressive, drive a short distance on Central Avenue and onto the Northway to Exit four and then back down Wolf Road to Central.
According to the Albany Business Review, progressive closed the 17,000-square-foot building in the fall of 2018 after opening in 2006. The newspaper also reported DePaula paid $3.65 million for the property.
When renovations are complete, The dealership will move its Maserati/Alfa Romeo showroom from 1101 Central Ave., less than three miles east.
