Initial site preparation work has started on the new home of the Bel Air Auto Auction in Riverside, but the business will remain at its current location on Belair Road for at least a year while its new, expanded facility is being built, according to the company's chief executive.
Raymond C. Nichols, CEO of Bel Air Auto Auction Inc. and chairman of its parent company, Bel Air-based BSCAmerica Group, said Tuesday that he has heard estimates the construction of the Riverside facility could last 12 to 16 months.
He said the Bel Air site will remain open "in every respect" during construction.
"Everything that we're doing today will continue until the new facility is totally ready," Nichols said.
Harford County has issued the required permits and approvals for construction of a new facility in the 4800 block of Route 7 on a 175-acre site, part of the Riverside East Business Park.
The preliminary and site plans have been approved, and a grading permit was issued in December 2014, Harford County government spokesperson Cindy Mumby said Monday.
Some initial grading has taken place, and a culvert has been installed as part of building an internal access road, Bel Air attorney Jacqueline Delisle, who represents BSCAmerica and the Bel Air Auto Auction, said.
Nichols said he hopes the main construction process will begin in the next 60 days.
"The major advantage is that we're operating at full capacity, and we have many clients who want to send more cars to Maryland and more cars to Harford County to be sold," Nichols said of the need for an expanded facility.
The existing Bel Air Auto Auction, which was established 68 years ago, handles more than 100,000 vehicles each year, according to its website.
Those vehicles come from new and used dealers, business fleets and government agencies to be sold at auction.
Nichols' son, Charles, and daughter, Michelle, are partners with him in the business.
Delisle noted the Riverside property has the desired commercial-industrial zoning, and no additional county variances, Board of Appeals approvals or special development conditions were needed to develop it.
Traffic improvements
In developing the new auction site, improvements are being required to Route 7 for site access and at two nearby highway intersections.
The developer must make three access improvements from Route 7, plus two off-site intersection improvements at Route 7 and Stepney Road and at Route 7 and Route 543, Mumby said.
The three site access improvements from Route 7 include an "exclusive" right-turn entrance, a two-lane roundabout at Route 7 and 7 Trails Drive and then reconstruction of the roundabout at the intersection with Holly Oak Circle, according to a description provided by Mumby.
The developer must also widen the Route 7 approach to the roundabout from the west with a "shared" left-turn and through lane and a shared right-turn/through lane, plus create a two-lane exit from the roundabout.
The left-turn lane from southbound Stepney Road to Route 7 must be extended by 25 feet, and the developer must conduct an analysis to determine if a traffic signal is needed for Stepney and Route 7.
"If a signal is warranted, the developer will be required to design and install a traffic signal," according to the description.
The left-turn lane from northbound Route 543 must also be extended by 25 feet.
The Auto Auction pays for a Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy to be stationed on Belair Road across from the auction site on Thursday afternoons, during its most popular auction day.
"We have designed the roads so it takes care of the capacity of ingoing and outgoing vehicles, but if there were any reason to do that we would get the permission of the authorities involved," Nichols said of the potential need for a police officer to direct at the Riverside site.
A bicycle trail will also be built as part of the development of the Riverside site, according to Delisle and Nichols.
"Harford County has been a great place to do business and interact with all the parties, the businesses and the citizens, and it continues to be," Nichols said.