New use proposed for former Subaru headquarters site in Cherry Hill
CHERRY HILL – The former corporate home of Subaru of America could be getting a new use — this time as the site of a Subaru dealership.
Subaru of Cherry Hill wants to build a 67,000-square-foot sales and service complex on the property between Route 70 and Park Boulevard, according to a proposal before the township’s planning board.
The dealership would include such amenities as a lounge with a fireplace on the sales floor and a carwash in the service area, the plans show.
More: Car marketer's leader retires After 41 years, top executive turns over the keys at Subaru of America
Subaru of America, which oversees a U.S. network of more than 630 retailers, left Cherry Hill for a new base in Camden five years ago.
It razed a five-story building at the Cherry Hill property, where parking lots have remained in use for vehicle storage.
Subaru dealer seeks new home
Subaru of Cherry Hill would leave its current location — a 29,000-square-foot building on two acres at 1800 Route 70 West, according to tax records.
The 14-acre headquarters site is about a mile to the west, across Route 70 from Garden State Pavilions shopping center and adjacent to the Atlantic City Rail Line.
Both locations are on strips of Route 70 lined by car dealerships.
The application says about 70 workers would make the move with Cherry Hill Subaru.
It does not say if any plans are in place for future use of the current dealership site.
The owner of the Cherry Hill business, Ziad Nashed, could not be reached for immediate comment.
The proposed dealership would include a 21,840-square-foot showroom and a 36,350-square-foot service area would have a car wash.
About 8,000 square feet would be used for parts storage and other purposes.
Subaru sales on the upswing
The proposal comes at a time of surging sales for Subaru dealers nationwide.
Subaru of America reported the sale of 54,531 vehicles in May, a 28.2 percent increase from a year earlier.Year-to-date sales rose by 12.8 percent to almost 250,
In contrast, annual sales fell by 4.7 percent in 2022 and by 19.5 percent in 2021, reflecting the impact of supply-chain problems and a semiconductor shortage.
The former headquarters site at one time was marked for residential development by First Montgomery Group of Haddon Township.
But First Montgomery later shifted its project, now under construction, to the former Victory Refrigeration site on Woodcrest Road near Burnt Mill Road in Cherry Hill.
The Subaru headquarters property, once farmland, from 1960 to 1978 held the Latin Casino, a nightclub that drew big-name performers and sizable audiences to a growing Cherry Hill.
It hosted another nightspot, Emerald City, before Subaru of America arrived in 1981.
In earlier decades, the property held a gas station, commercial buildings and a home, according to the Subaru of Cherry Hill proposal.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Subaru of Cherry Hill plans to move about a mile down Route 70
