It was a building built shortly after World War II. Due to a shortage of steel, building trusses were impossible to get, so the building’s trusses were made from bed frame parts that were welded together, and Niles Avenue was nothing more than a dirt road at the time. This week, the former long time home to Sieman’s Mazda of St. Joseph has been meeting the wrecking ball to make way for a gleaming new Honor Credit Union branch at 2712 Niles Avenue in the Southtown neighborhood.
Crews from Hollerbach Excavating began the process yesterday and have been making rapid progress on the tear down throughout the day today.
The Siemans family sold the property earlier this year to Honor Credit Union who was in search of a new location with high visibility following the move of corporate and back house operations to a new facility in Berrien Springs this summer. The site had served the Siemans family well over the years, but eventually the Siemans Mazda crew simply ran out of room at the Niles Avenue location, and winter time was especially tough as it was hard to pull into the lot during snowy days. Additionally, snow plows would hurl snow on the showroom winds and part of the vehicle inventory, leaving little room to pile snow elsewhere on the property.
Eric Siemans tells me that while there were great memories and fantastic sales at that location, they flat out ran out of room. So, Ed, Jack, Craig & Eric Siemans collectively made the decision to move the Mazda franchise to Bridgman to add to their automotive offerings of Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Promaster.
Ed Siemans had purchased the building in 1985, after it had been home to Town & Country AMC owned and operated by Ed Jaskiewicz, who bought the dealership from the Wesner family who owned Southtown AMC before him. Later that year, renovations were performed on the building to enlarge the showroom area that was up to the sidewalk.
The relocation of the Mazda line up has been very successful. Mazda Sales Manager Bob Betker says that new Mazda sales are up 22-percent since moving the franchise to Bridgman. As Bob says, “It just makes sense.” He’s been with the Siemans dealership for more than 20-years now and tells us, “The customers have responded well to the move. We can now handle more inventory and a better selection than we ever could have at our old Niles Avenue location.” Brandon Borr is a Mazda sales agent who has moved to the Bridgman location. He is currently on track to have his best sales year ever.
The boost in sales is not alone, either. Siemans Mazda’s service department is still run by a familiar face. Ron Tipton runs that department and is joined by service employees Dave Wright, Dave Briney, and Tommy Nelson. Mazda customers are loyal to their brand — and they clearly enjoy the continued relationship with a familiar staff that continues to care for their cars. Throughout the history of Siemans Mazda’s service department, they have earned many service awards from the Mazda corporation.
Ed Siemans and his wife Joan moved to Bridgman in 1975 to open Siemans Ford by the railroad tracks in the communities downtown district. In 1980, Ed built the dealership on Red Arrow Highway across from the Navajo Restaurant. In 1982, he added Chrysler to that location, and has continued to add on to the dealership’s facility several times. The dealership is now situated on more than 10 acres and boasts more than 300 new vehicles in stock and another more than 100 quality pre-owned vehicles in stock.
You will find Siemans Ford/Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep/Promaster/Mazda at 8961 Red Arrow Highway in Bridgman. Stop by today, you might be really glad you did!
The former Siemans Mazda dealership in St. Joe is being demolished to make way for Honor Credit Union
