Hyundai dealership set to take over former Kmart lot in Vallejo

VALLEJO - The long-vacant site of Vallejo’s demolished Kmart store could soon become a new Hyundai dealership as a plan for the property was approved by the city’s Planning Commission last week.

The city’s Planning Commission voted 5-0 Wednesday to greenlight Wise Auto Group’s design for a new dealership, several years in the making. Planning Commissioners Tara Beasley-Stansberry and Phillip Balbuena were absent.

The Wise Vallejo Auto Complex would fill a lot at 500 Redwood St. which has long stood vacant following the closure of a Kmart store in 1995 that was later demolished in 2004.

The empty lot runs along Sonoma Boulevard, bounded by the Napa River to the west, retail stores and Redwood Street to the south, the California Meadows residential development to the north and Highway 29 to the east. The proposed development would include 294 parking spaces, more than 200 being for new and used vehicles. 

Planning Commissioner Anthony Taylor spoke in favor of the project Wednesday. “I think it’s great that we’re using existing land that we already have, that’s underutilized,” he said. “Eliminating blight and an eyesore, I think, will be a benefit for the community.” 

James Reavis, facilities director at Wise Auto Group – which operates dealerships across California, Nevada and Arizona – said the company already owns a Dodge Ram dealership in Vallejo. Vallejo Hyundai has been housed in a small, temporary building and needs a better home, he said.

“This facility will create new jobs and generate significant tax revenue that will help our community,” Reavis said. 

While no community members commented on the design plan, several commissioners questioned the potential environmental impacts which a dealership may pose. 

Commissioner Craig Standafer said he wished the city had more options for the long-vacant lot rather than a “typical dealership.”

“I feel like Vallejo could do a little better than a car dealership along the Sonoma Boulevard corridor,” he said. “But with that said, we’re way too far along for that process to [change].”

Commissioner Wanda Madeiros questioned multiple facets of the project’s design. She asked how the lot’s drainage will be managed responsibly to carefully capture oil and other chemicals from car washing, and possible impacts to the adjacent White Slough. 

City staff told Madeiros that the Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District reviewed the plan to ensure that an oil separator will be used to make sure that all chemicals are diverted when headed to the sewer lines. There’s an existing outflow line along the drainage channel in good condition to catch drainage from the property and Sonoma Boulevard, which won’t be touched. 

Chief Assistant City Attorney Randy Risner said his office already reviewed the project and determined that it doesn’t require further environmental analysis. “The site is not being built right on the White Slough,” he said. “It’s adjacent to it. We’re not going to disturb the White Slough.”

Madeiros also asked how the company would address homeless residents living in the area of Sonoma Boulevard. Reavis said he’s worked with city code enforcement officers, who told him there are no longer any homeless people on the site, which is kept gated and locked. 

“It’s costing us upwards of $40,000 a year,” Reavis said. He added that the White Slough property’s owner may seek to sell the property, and with that in mind, “they’re going to do a big homeless cleanup over there.” 

Planning and Development Services Director Kristin Pollot told the Vallejo Sun that Wise Auto Group was spending its own money to prevent people from entering the property. She did not say whether the city plans to sweep the area and any encampments.

It’s unclear when the project will next come before the Vallejo City Council. The city approved a preliminary application for early feedback on the concept plan for the site in 2022 from Yanni Limited, LLC, which is part of Wise Auto Group. However, the company now faces what could be expensive litigation over its dealerships. 

Yanni Limited CEO and CFO Rami Yanni, who manages multiple dealerships through Wise Auto Group, has been accused of financial mismanagement and fraud by another dealer, Clarence Williams of KEW Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Vacaville. 

Williams made multiple claims in a new complaint filed in Solano County Superior Court, including for breach of contract and fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. He said that Yanni, a director and shareholder at KEW, conducted KEW business while in offices dedicated to other dealerships and “plundered, mismanaged and converted” KEW’s assets by making deceptive entries in its books. Williams is seeking damages of at least $14 million.

Yanni did not respond to requests to comment on the complaint, or whether the litigation will affect the completion of the Vallejo Hyundai dealership.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Commissioners Phillip Balbuena and Tara Beasley-Stansberry did not abstain from voting but were absent from the meeting.