Having successfully rounded up the higher profile slot they had been hoping for all along, Advance Auto Parts has successfully completed its transition to new quarters on M-139 in Benton Charter Township across the road from the Fairplain Plaza.
That transition was actually started some four years ago when Advance Auto Parts purchased the Carquest Auto Parts store at the intersection of Napier and Pipestone, several blocks from the new site which opened with a Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Wednesday, November 8th during which the store donated a check for $1,000 to the United Way of Southwest Michigan.
Many will recall that there was an Advance Auto Parts store originally at the corner of Napier and Colfax. That store was closed around the time of the Carquest acquisition and was eventually taken over by Ridge & Kramer which merged with Fisher Auto Parts and became a Federated Auto Parts distributor.
The new Advance Auto Parts now sits on land that for decades was the home to Louie’s Bar. The bar was demolished by contractors with Pearson Construction Company of Benton Harbor last May. Aaron Dickenson with Schaad Brown Real Estate in Knoxville, Tennessee bought the Louie’s property and the lot behind it, and acted as developers of the new auto parts store which is now leasing it from them.
Dickenson’s crew and Pearson Construction delivered the new 8,000 square foot store right on schedule to the team from Advance Auto Parts which moved inventory from the former Carquest property over the past week.
Benton Township Trustees approved the original site plans for the new building at 1740 M-139 back in March, following the township’s Planning Commission nod in mid-March. The just over 2-acre site will has 30 parking spaces in addition to the new building. The property is zoned D1 Commercial and met all township requirements for their approval.
In March Township Clerk Carolyn Phillips verified that the existing shared access easement allows customers to arrive at the new auto parts store from either Napier Avenue or from M-139.
Other nearby Advance Auto Parts stores are located in Niles, Paw Paw and Granger.
The new shop deals largely in the after-market for auto parts of all sorts, providing a complete line of replacement parts and other related automotive services.
The new shop at 1740 M-139, just off the corner of M-139 and Napier is open from 7:30am until 9pm every Monday through Saturday and from 8am until 8pm on Sundays. You can reach the store by phone at (269) 926-7255.
