Millerton’s McLean Ford has sights on new look

McLean Ford, one of the town’s largest and most visible commercial operations, is preparing for a makeover. Nationwide, Ford Motor Co. has mandated its retailers renovate their businesses to conform with a sleek, more modern look, or risk losing their dealership. With that goal in sight, McLean Ford has appealed to the Planning Board to approve its renovation plans — most of which are cosmetic, to both the interior and exterior of the building.“We have to design with their [standards],” said McLean President David McLean. “We’re not changing our footprint or anything like that. There will be new glass in the front, new bathrooms, a new parts and services area, new waiting room — it’s almost all internal.”The dealership was built in 1969, and while it’s had several different owners, it’s been McLean Ford since 1985. The new look, McLean said, “is a fairly modern design,” with changes to the interior and some exterior alterations, painting, landscaping and changes made to make the building more energy-efficient. Though some on the Planning Board have expressed doubt whether the new look will mesh with the village’s quaint charm, McLean said he’s not worried about it clashing.“It fits in exactly with the character,” he said. “And I think the people will like it a lot better. One thing a lot of people say is that they wished the interior was better. I think local people will like it because it will be a lot nicer to come inside. I think it will be beneficial for the community.”Which is how Planning Board Chairman Dale Culver feels about the application. “A refurbished look to a local business is encouraging, especially when people invest in the community,” he said.Planning Board member Bill Kish, though, said he hopes there will be some flexibility as far as the proposed exterior design goes.“What I would say is I’m very much hoping that the Ford Motor Company will be willing to work with the Planning Board to supply some alternative designs that will be more in character with the community,” he said. If not?“The process goes as it goes,” said Kish. “We have to do SEQRA [State Environmental Quality Review Act] process, determine if there are any environmental impacts, including aesthetic impacts, and each board member has their say. We have the obligation to ask for alternative designs if we need to. It’s not good when an applicant comes in and says we can have it one way or no way, so hopefully we’ll have some choices here.”Kish noted McLean is being flexible; the Ford Motor Company not so much, according to the car dealer.As far as the new look for the McLean dealership, Planning Board member Leslie Farhangi said she’s on the fence.“I don’t think it necessarily fits in with the character of Millerton, but I also don’t know how flexible Ford is willing to be,” she said. “I think it’s very important to the community [McLean Ford remains put]. We’re always willing to work with anyone no matter what their plans look like. Each member of the Planning Board has their own opinion.”Culver said “there are some hurdles to overcome” with the application, but repeated that “the people at McLean Ford have shown a willingness to listen and to work with us, and that’s all you can ask for.” How it will turn out, Culver said, is unclear, though he said he’d “like to see a positive outcome.”The hurdles Culver referred to include some outstanding issues with the building department for which the dealership is in non-compliance. According to town Building Inspector Ken McLaughlin, “all signs on the premises are in non-compliance with current signage code, with the exception of the ‘Service’ sign.” He suggested graphic drawings for each sign be proposed along with documents that specify compliance.Additionally, “the exterior display area at the center island is limited to one vehicle. The applicant agrees to remove any vehicles in excess,” stated McLaughlin.He also noted “there are two distinctive automobile display areas, with the grassy lot to the west being used exclusively for the display of new vehicles … it appears … from time to time vehicles encroach closer than the permitted 15-foot front line.”The building inspector said the applicant agreed to abide by the 15-foot setback.He then recommended that McLean Ford prepare an amended site development plan incorporating all of the above elements to submit to the board.Farhangi said she wants to make sure people know the board is being as cooperative as it can be with McLean Ford, which is still getting its ducks in a row.“What I would like the community to know is that the Planning Board is sensitive to business owners and that we want to help them,” she said.Their joint goal, though, is to get applications that come before the board to conform with the town’s local laws and regulations — whether they deal with lighting or signage or setbacks, etc. Such is the case with McLean Ford.“It’s an ongoing application, of course, and I have some concerns about some things,” said Culver. “But at the end of the day they haven’t submitted their final thoughts and we are hopeful that they’ll work with us to come to a mutually agreeable result.”Though McLean would only say that the renovations could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, other reports have estimated the cost to be in the neighborhood of $800,000. By meeting Ford’s requirements McLean’s will apparently receive funding from the Ford Motor Company, which is why following Ford’s layout is so critical.There’s no time to waste. McLean said the target date for the project’s completion is mid-2015.