$5.5 million deal. Sugar Load Ford, hemmed in at current crowded lot, seeks “breathing room”
Kwik Trip-Chrysler-Ford domino scenario? Puetz: Not that we know of
WINONA, Minn. – One of the three new car dealerships in Winona, Sugar Loaf Ford, has bought adjacent property on U.S. Highway 61 to expand. Andy Puetz, of the family that owns Sugar Loaf, said that the acquisition will create “some breathing room” and had come up for sale. The transaction: $5.5 million. Although county transaction records don’t detail the extent of new Sugar Loaf property, it apparently includes Joe’s Auto & Tire shop, next door at 1252 West Service Drive, and part of the Winona Mall parking lot off Vila Street. Winona’s new car dealerships:
> Chrysler Winona: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram. 121 Huff Street, near downtown.
> Dahl: Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Toyota. Side-by-side showrooms at 1077 and 1201 West Service Drive. off U.S. 61.
> Sugar Loaf: Ford, Lincoln. 1222 Service Drive of U.S. 61. advertises itself as on the “sunny side of the street,” across U.S.” Highway 61 from the newer, flashier bluff-side Dahl.
Puetz acknowledged hearing rumors around town that the Chrysler dealership, also owned by the Puetzes, might move to the Sugar Loaf Ford site, “Yes, I have been hearing that for some time,” said Puetz. “We may locate Chrysler to an alternate site down the road, but no immediate plans at this moment.” The current Chrysler shop is on the heavily trafficked Riverview Drive route into downtown from the Far West End. A downside to the Chrysler Winona site, like the Sugar Loaf Ford site, is being tightly hemmed in.
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Kwik Trip’s Huff Street quest
Speculation in real estte circles is that the LaCrosse-based Kwik Trip has been eyeing the Chrysler Winona site for an eighth fueling and convenience store n Winna. John McHugh, Kwik Trip’s vice president for property management, did not respond to several queries about the reports. Two previous attempts by Kwik Trip to expand its presence on Huff Street have failed.
> 2016. Kwik Trip was into deep into negotiations to acquire the old YMCA site at Huff and Fourth streets for a new store but backed out after neighbors objected to a gas station adjacent to the historic residential district and also at the Wisconsin gateway from the Interstate Bridge into Winona.
> 2020. Kwik Trip was also deeply into negotiations with Winona State for a land swap in which it would have moved its Huff and Sarnia store across the street and built a larger store on a Winona State parking. In exchange Winona State would have acquired the existing Kwik Trip store and torn it down and built a nearer-to-campus parking lot. Neighbors organized a campaign against the swap, complaining that a larger Kwik Trip would diminish the residential character of the neighborhood.Kwik Trip and the university deferred.
Winona Kwik Trips
> Store 654: 375 Cottonwood Drive. Opens 5 a.m.
> Store 723: Minnesota City. 24 hours.
> Store746: 1058 Homer Road. 24 hours.
> Store 778: 1601 West Fifth Street. Opens 4:30 a.m.
> Store 810: 268 West Sarnia Street. 24 hours.
> Store 811: 872 West Broadway Street. 24 hours.
> Store 824: 770 East Broadway Street. 24 hours.