Are you more likely to buy a car in a state of the art building, showroom and waiting area? General Motors Co. (GM) certainly thinks so as evidenced by their "Facility Image Program" upgrading older sales and service facilities to be more customer friendly and environmentally efficient. As a result, the Haynes Group is working simultaneously on the GMC Buick dealership in Westborough, Mass. and the GM Durand Chevrolet dealership in Hudson, Mass.
Each GM renovation must reach targeted milestones and budgets in order to earn funding from GM corporate. Michael Bates owner and CEO of Westborough GM was having difficulty with bidders meeting those targets and reached out to Mark Mcarthy Architect with Kent Duckham Architects in Boston. Mcarthy promptly put Bates in touch with the Haynes Group.
Haynes Group stepped in, reverse engineered the process with the owners and architects, minimized the expenses, expedited benchmark dates and ensured compliance with the GM program requirements. Cosmo Casamassa, the director of operations in Westborough said, "We worked with numerous contractors on the bidding process and found the Haynes Group to have a very competitive estimate while showing professionalism second to none. They worked to make this process as seamless and stress free for me as possible."
Bates' home office is located in Michigan requiring a team that could work remotely with his COO to make the deal happen. There is also a 2-tiered design responsibility for GM's program. Gensler holds the primary architectural relationship at the corporate level, responsible for all of the initial site studies, major design concepts and product specifications. They then partner with local architects to ensure that codes, permitting and other local requirements are met. Haynes Group works closely with both companies on design ideas, progress reporting and renovation milestones.
The focus of each project is to upgrade all customer "touch points". First is "curb appeal", the complete renovation of the building exterior. This features; a raised parapet to accommodate the custom, low maintenance ACM panels, extensive storefront glazing with floor to ceiling windows for high showroom visibility and a custom canopy for the service drive through bay. After creating that curb appeal the focus turns inward to the showroom, receptionist desk, professional sales cubicles, offices, service check-in areas, and the customer lounge which includes a high definition flat screen TV.
The showroom lighting is a highly efficient LED system provided by Blair Companies of Altoona, Penn. and there is custom signage inside and out through Haynes Group partnerships with local graphics professionals and sign makers. This adds yet another element of attractive design detail for buyers.
This initial 3-month Westborough project of 15,000 s/f at $500,000 was completed in September. David Musgrove GM warranty administrator's said, "I have seen many of the renovation projects throughout the northeast over the last couple of years and the transformation of Westborough Buick GM has been impressive."
That initial success led to a second project when GM decided to move from a leased offsite auto body repair facility to building a new facility on the Westborough site. Haynes was asked to expedite; design, permitting and construction to achieve a January 1, 2014 move in date.
"We worked so well with Haynes Group that they have since coordinated another project for us consisting of a 6,000 s/f state of the art collision center to be completed by the end of 2013. They have again impressed me with what they were able to come up with to make this new shop meet our budget," said Casamassa.
Haynes Group worked with several parties including Steelsmith Inc. and Mcarthy on the design and approvals for the new body shop. Co-founder and CEO Mike Haynes also said, "The town of Westborough has become an integral part of making this project happen."
This will be a slab on grade structure with a service counter, office, restrooms, new state of the art spray booths and utilities that include high pressure gas to accommodate both the spray booths and auto body equipment.
Haynes Group broke ground November 4, only 5 weeks after the approval with completion scheduled for year end.
The renovation of the Durand Chevrolet dealership in Hudson was begun this past August on 20,000 s/f at $600,000. This 1960s dealership has 12 foot high fieldstone walls that will be deconstructed and replaced with floor to ceiling glazing as a storefront focal point for the project. Once again all customer "Touch Points" will be modernized while meeting president Rick Durand's priority of maintaining key architectural features that reflect the dealership's character and heritage.
Hopefully these new investments and Haynes Group improvements will improve your vehicle buying experience.

Bill Bean LEED AP is president of Green Planning & Coaching, Lee, Mass.