A Hyundai dealership is back on its way to North Augusta. The building at the intersection of I-520 and U.S. Route 1 is staked to be the new CSRA location of an auto vendor based in Greer, S.C.
The 9.58-acre lot at 5585 Jefferson Davis Hwy. has been the site of unease in the last few years. Dallas-based auto dealer Alan Reuber had sought to open the dealership in 2019, but financing issues ultimately halted construction.
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Mark Escude, owner of Toyota of Greer and Nissan of Greer, acquired the property for $2 million in May of last year.
Terry Lambert is currently the executive manager of Nissan of Greer, but is slated to operate Hyundai of North Augusta when it opens later this year. Lambert says that the dealership is expecting to have plenty of inventory, even amid the recent semiconductor chip shortage, but that supply chain issues are primarily what’s delaying that completion of the 16,000 square foot building.
“That part’s not affecting us at all,” said Lambert about the chip shortage. “Plenty of inventory won’t be an issue. We’re just trying to get the building completed.”
Lambert is originally from the Augusta area, and worked for Bob Richards Auto for 16 years before Richards sold his business to Murphy Auto Group in 2019. Since working in Escude’s organization, Lambert has regularly traversed between his job in Greer and where his family still lives in Augusta. The new location in North Augusta will be a homecoming, he says.
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“That’s where we established our home,” said Lambert. “My home is still in Augusta. I travel back and forth; I’ve got a place to stay during the weekend. It’s been a heck of a drive the last three years.”
Because of difficulties gathering construction materials, Lambert says, an opening date has yet to be set in stone, though he estimates that it should open between May and June.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
