LYNNWOOD — CarMax is still in a holding pattern in Lynnwood.
The nation’s largest used auto dealership purchased the former Detroit Autoworks property along Highway 99 at 212th Street SW* in 2013. The sale included about 8 acres and cost $10 million, according to records filed with Snohomish County.
The publicly traded company filed plans to build a new showroom and service area on the site on July 6, 2013. But the plans, called project design review, expired after two years.
The company has submitted a new set of plans for a 19,277-square-foot building for sales and service, according to the city of Lynnwood’s economic development department. The new plans change the orientation of the building to face more toward Highway 99 than the previous set.
The project calls for 580 parking stalls, 402 for sales and 178 for customers and employees.
The project’s plans are being reviewed administratively by the city. There wasn’t a timetable last week for the review to be finished.
CarMax is growing about 13 to 16 stores a year, said CarMax spokesman Casey Werderman in an email. He said the company announces new store openings at its quarterly earnings calls and the Lynnwood location opening hasn’t been announced yet.
He said typical projects cost between $10 million to $25 million. The company has about 50,000 vehicles at its 151 stores nationwide.
CarMax was started in the early 1990s by Circuit City executives who were looking to create a national retail chain without a national competitor, according to the CarMax website.
Circuit City, which went out of business in 2009, invested $50 million into the CarMax concept. The company sold its first car, a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee in 1993.
CarMax became its own company in 1997 and is traded under the ticker symbol KMX.
Correction: CarMax purchased the former Detroit Autoworks property along Highway 99 at 212 Street SW in 2013. An earlier version of this story online gave the incorrect location of the property.
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