Auto dealership will include restaurant, other features in novel concept
July 31, 2009

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/es...55a4f9e3c.html

The sleek, towering three-story building under construction on Ninth Avenue in Escondido will be an upscale restaurant, a concert venue, a flower shop, a public art display, a library, a meeting hall and a simulated golf course.

Oh, and it also will sell cars.

When it opens sometime in November, the 326,000-square-foot Lexus dealership just west of Interstate 15 also might be the next generation of luxury car dealerships aiming to be destination places for the community, said owner Judy Jones-Cone.

"Some people are looking at me as a guinea pig," she said.

Jones-Cone, who also owns Lexus Carlsbad and Toyota of Carlsbad, said executives at Lexus, a division of the Toyota Motor Corp., are challenging dealerships to create innovative ways of bringing in customers and integrating showrooms with the community.

"My response to that was to engage the community not only in a business way in serving their transportation needs, but engaging the community in a philanthropic and social way," she said. "I believe very much that making an automotive agency a destination center for many purposes enhances our customers' experience."

The end result could be a place where Rotarians someday will meet for lunch, charity groups will hold fundraisers, music lovers will enjoy concerts and friends will meet for a beer.

Since conceiving the idea about seven years ago, Jones-Cone has spent about $29 million in construction. At a time when the poor economy has stalled many projects, Jones-Cone said she saw no reason to postpone the Lexus building.

"I have faith," she said. "I have faith in the blessing of God. I have faith that the American economy will rebound. It's always rebounded historically. And I have faith in my staff, managers and employees that they will deliver uncommon comfort and convenience to our guest, and that will warrant the cost and the amenities we've added to this building."

Dana Point architecture firm Whitfield and Associates designed the building, which has a striking, three-story glass facade that juts like a ship's bow pointing to a 130-foot-long reflective pool fed by a well on the property.

In the rear, about 200,000 square feet of the building is devoted to ground-level service bays and a two-story garage.

The second level will be a temperature-controlled room holding cars for sale, and the top level will be for customer parking.

"There's nothing like this anywhere in the country that I've found," said Tom D'Agosta, a former Escondido City Council member and manager of the restaurant that is scheduled to open next year.

Walking past construction workers installing electrical wiring Thursday, D'Agosta pointed to the center top-floor lounge where customers will receive their new cars and meet with sales people. Just past the lounge, visitors will find a bar and restaurant, which they also can reach through a glass elevator from the showroom downstairs.

D'Agosta said he has hired Lars Steffensen, now working as former first lady Betty Ford's personal chef, to prepare a menu of Italian and French cuisine, with entrees priced at $20 and up.

The dining room is on two levels and will hold 166 people, and an additional 56 can eat on a trestle area outside. The lower level is next to a glass wall facing north, and an adjacent space may hold a piano and dance floor.

The bar can accommodate about 65 people, and patios on the east and west side can hold about 250 people each, D'Agosta said.

On the west end, the patio has a view of the mountains and may be ideal for fundraisers and receptions, Jones-Cone said. Permanent heating lamps and misters will keep guests warm at night and cool on summer days. D'Agosta said the patio also will have fire rings.

Jones-Cone said the east patio has room for jazz ensembles, and D'Agosta said the top parking lot has room for more ambitious concerts. With room for tables and 800 people, he said the building rooftop someday may host concerts under the stars.

The top floor also will have a flower shop, and Jones-Cone said she is still looking for a tenant.

The most novel and eye-catching element of the building will be a 27-by-48-foot digital screen just off the east patio, facing I-15.

"The concept is to celebrate all the beauty of the world," Jones-Cone said about the images of landscapes and nature it will project. She said she also hopes to use the screen to show winning entries from photo contests and to promote Guesthouse Ministries, a faith-based group she founded in 2002 to support youth organizations and orphans locally and internationally.

The second floor will have offices and two 2,500-square-foot community meeting rooms that Jones-Cone said can hold 275 people each and may be used by local clubs and other organizations. The ground-floor showroom will have a 35-foot-high ceiling, a cyber cafe, a library for visitors to browse and, exclusively for Lexus customers, a golf simulator featuring courses from around the world.

Upscale Lexus dealership slated to open Dec. 1
November 24, 2009

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/es...e59964f6c.html

The screen, which began operating in the last few days by showing an American flag and the message "Happy Thanksgiving," was controversial three years ago with nearby residents and then prompted concerns last year about distracted drivers from the state Department of Transportation.

But some design tweaks appeased the neighbors, and state officials backed off when Lexus agreed to refrain from video streaming and having images change rapidly.

The screen will operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, Weston said. No advertisements will be allowed.