Best Real Estate Projects of the Year: Top rehab/renovation retail project.

“Well, let’s just say we had a very strict set of guidelines,” said Joe Giger, project manager for general contractor DesCor Builders, describing his firm’s work on a major rehabilitation/renovation project for Niello Land Rover Jaguar.

The $7.48 million showroom/repair shop rebirth in Rocklin involved converting a 14,000-square-foot facility into a 27,500-square-foot destination — “one in which our commitment to retail transparency included expanding a room into a spectator site so customers could watch the company’s mechanics work on their cars,” said Matt Ryan, director of operations for The Niello Co.

Niello Land Rover Jaguar stayed open for business throughout the approximately yearlong construction phase of the project, which also saw eight new vehicle lifts and two wash bays added to the operation, Ryan said.

Asked if the disruption caused business to slacken, he shook his head and grinned.

“We actually enjoyed an uptick in sales as the work was going on,” he said. “I’m not sure what causes it but when we threw the (temporary office) trailers on the lot, and suddenly there was a lot of dirt being moved, customers flocked to it, maybe even gave us a break because they saw we were hard at work improving their buying experience.”

Giger said the project’s somewhat rigid parameters weren’t simply a province of California having stricter building mandates than other places for energy efficiency and access for the disabled. It also had to do with the manufacturer’s template for how its showrooms across the country must look and operate.

“Both Jaguars and Land Rovers are high-end British products,” said Ryan. Both are manufactured by Tata Motors Ltd. of India.

Mike Murakami of project architect murakami/Nelson Architectural Corp. said that while needing to work from a design with “not too much wiggle room” may sound as though it stifles creativity, “in practice, nothing’s further from the truth.”

“It’s not just about the concept being done by someone else but the execution of the design with our client in mind,” he said. “Taking the blue sky concept into reality for The Niello Co. is our job, and our challenge is to satisfy the design intent of the brand. The creativity lies in the ability to turn wishes into reality — on time and within budget, even though the design has already been conceptualized by the manufacturer.

“The manufacturers may tell you how the project should look, but they don’t tell you how to build it, what equipment to use, what fixtures and what furnishings to bring in,” said Murakami, who founded his design firm 51 years ago and has been doing work for The Niello Co. since being hired by founder Richard Niello Sr., who’s now 99 years old, in 1989.

The privately held company, which has more than 700 employees, sells top-of-the-line cars such as BMW, Audi and Fiat, along with Jaguar and Land Rover, at multiple locations.

Ryan, who’s been with The Niello Co. for 15 years, said Covid-19 caused only one shutdown during the project “because of the supply chain’s interruption, and only for a couple of weeks at most.” DesCor’s Giger said the project still was competed by its scheduled deadline through scheduling adjustments.

Fast Facts

Niello Land Rover Jaguar

Details: Automotive dealership expansion including a new showroom, service garage, parts and delivery department, customer lounge, administrative offices, a second floor, 4,415-square-foot mezzanine and façade improvements.

Completed: April 2021

Cost: $7.48 million

Developer: The Niello Co.

Contractor: DesCor Builders

Architect: murakami/Nelson Architectural Corp.

By Ed Goldman

Link to Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2021/09/17/2021-best-real-estate-projects-niello-land-rover.html