Krause Automotive Group is branching out to South Florida after acquiring a pair of Nissan dealerships in Palm Beach County for a combined $30.5 million.
The Alpharetta, Georgia-based company, led by CEO Vernon Krause, acquired two automobile retail sites at 5353 Lake Worth Road in Greenacres, and 3870 West Blue Heron Boulevard in Riviera Beach for $17.5 million and $13 million, respectively, records and real estate database Vizzda show.
The buyer obtained a $13.3 million Bank of America mortgage to finance the purchase of the Riviera Beach site.
Billionaire auto magnate Terry Taylor sold the Riviera Beach Nissan dealership at a slight discount from his previous purchase price. In 2015, a Taylor entity paid $14 million for the 6.8-acre site, records show. The showroom and car lot were completed in 2005. The previous sale price for the Greenacres dealership is not listed in records. The one-story showroom and auto repair building on the 6-acre site were completed in 2017.
The owner of more than 120 car dealerships in the U.S., Taylor has a net worth of $1.9 billion according to Forbes.
Krause Automotive also recently expanded to other cities in Florida, dropping a combined $110 million for three Nissan and Genesis dealerships in Cape Coral and Fort Myers last month, published reports state.
Car dealers are boosting their expansion plans across South Florida. Last month, Champion Porsche landed a $52 million loan to build a new Pompano Beach showroom and office building. The exotic sportscar dealer is planning a two-story building and a four-story garage on an 18-acre development site near its existing sales lot.
In January, Craig Zinn Automotive Group dropped $14.5 million for a one-story building in Hollywood near a pair of Toyota dealerships that the company owns. Zinn has not disclosed any details about its redevelopment plans for the property, which currently houses Hope Church of Christ.