Motor City Harley-Davidson is moving about 2.5 miles away in Farmington Hills in a planned $8 million relocation to the former Sam’s Club site on Haggerty Road.
Photo by Courtesy of Luna Entertainment. The new Motor City Harley-Davidson store is expected to be complete by the end of August.
Construction on the 106,000-square-foot site is expected to begin in April and the company plans to hire another 20 employees, bringing up its payroll to about 70.
Tom Celani, owner of Motor City Harley-Davidson, said its existing space on Grand River Avenue east of Drake Road, where it has been for 17 years, is too small and inefficient.
“We are out of space,” he said.
The new location is expected to open in August and first full-year sales in 2017 are expected to be $30 million, Celani said.
“It’s hard to manage the inventory,” said Craig Collins, the general manager of Motor City Harley-Davidson. “It’s a beautiful store, but it’s an old car dealership and it’s a logistical nightmare.”
The project is expected to incorporate a brew pub-style restaurant in 8,000 to 12,000 square feet, a gourmet market in up to 30,000 square feet, indoor and outdoor gathering space and a drive- and ride-in outdoor movie theater. It is also set to have a Harley-Davidson Riding Academy.
“We are designing this building so that it will have 12 months a year of entertainment,” Celani said. “Our customer is the full gamut of people from the CEO to the great workers that we have in Michigan. People want a destination where they can enjoy their Harley-Davidson, enjoy a meal and have a beer.”
Celani, whose business interests have ranged from beer distribution to gaming, car dealerships and vineyards, said a letter of understanding has been signed with an undisclosed microbrewery operator and a search is underway for a grocer to occupy space at the site, located north of Grand River Avenue and west of I-275.
Motor City Harley-Davidson will own the site and lease the space to tenants.
Celani also owns Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights.
