The automobile sales firm Carvana, which invites customers to buy pre-owned cars via the internet and then pick them up or have them delivered is seeking a presence in Beacon. It proposes to establish a store in the building at 410 Fishkill Ave. in Beacon where Healy Hyundai formerly operated.
The existing building totals approximately 19,588 square feet including approximately 2,828 square feet of second floor mezzanine space. Healey Hyundai operated there as a new and use car sales dealership. It also provided parts sales and vehicle service on the site. The vehicle service bays that Healey used will be kept and used by Carvana.
Attorney Taylor M. Palmer of the White Plains-based law firm Cuddy & Feder told the Beacon Planning Board that DKH Realty LLC, which owns the property, would be leasing the space to Carvana. He said that if a customer in the area to be served by the Beacon facility elects to pick up a car, that person would come to the Fishkill Avenue location to examine the vehicle, do any necessary paperwork and drive the car away. He said that the process usually takes about 15 minutes.
Palmer assured the Planning Board that Carvana would not be doing vehicle servicing at the site other than minor repairs. The service bays would primarily be used for detailing and doing state inspections.
“These operations are exclusively for Carvana and will not be open to the public,” Taylor said. “Carvana’s projected employee count will also be about one-third of the previous car dealership, with approximately 12-15 total employees.”
Taylor said that Carvana’s use of the site would be in harmony with other non-residential uses along Fishkill Avenue. He noted that the activity will be less intense than what was conducted at the site when Healey Hyundai was operating there.
Carvana was founded in 2012 and in 2017 went public with its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange. According to the company’s annual report for 2023, it sold 312,847 vehicles during the year and had total revenues of $10.77 billion. It reported a gross profit of $1.7 billion.
Colliers Engineering told the Planning Board that it anticipated that 10 to 20 vehicles per day would be picked up from the Fishkill Avenue location. Additional sales will be fulfilled utilizing single-car haulers that will pick up vehicles at the site for delivery to customers.
The Planning Board raised questions about a number of elements of the proposal including nighttime lighting of the site, turning requirements for car haulers, parking and the effects of the operation on nearby residences. Taylor assured the board that the applicant would address the issues.
