FAIRFIELD – The Balise Hyundai car dealership is looking to increase its presence on Commerce Drive by expanding that building and moving its Genesis luxury car dealership down the street.
“We bought 26 Commerce Drive and, as long as a deal is approved by the town, it will become an exclusive Genesis dealership,” said James “Jeb” Balise, president of West Springfield, Massachusetts-based Balise Auto.
On Sept. 12, BAR Commerce Drive LLC bought the 16,369-square-foot lot that now houses Devan Infiniti for $8 million from 26 Commerce Drive Associates LLC. On the same date, another LLC that Balise controls purchased the property at 65 Commerce Drive – a parking lot across the street from the Devan dealership – for $4.24 million.
“Just as we got approval to build the Genesis store, we had the opportunity to purchase 26 Commerce Drive and 65 Commerce Drive,” Balise said. “The space at 65 Commerce Drive has room for 200 vehicles.”
The current Genesis store, which shares space with Balise Hyundai at 338 Commerce Drive, would expand and move to the 26 and 65 Commerce Drive addresses once Balise receives approvals from the town and the company, Balise said.
“We opened that new store (Genesis) just before Covid in 2019,” Balise said. “We completed construction in spring 2020. Once we opened it, the dealership kept growing and growing.”
So, he knew he would eventually need more space for both the Genesis store and the Hyundai store, which was also growing.
While his company had already purchased nearby 328 Commerce Drive for $3 million in 2018, he went on another buying spree picking up 316 Commerce Drive for $1.5 million in 2023 and 47 Halley Court for $1.6 million in April 2024.
That set up Balise to start his expansion of the Hyundai dealership. The work on the Halley Court and 316 Commerce Drive properties has already begun, with 316 Commerce Drive scheduled for demolition any day, Balise said.
What drew Balise to the Genesis luxury brand – part of the Hyundai family of cars – was there standing in the electric and hybrid vehicle space.
“They are priced really well,” he said. “They’re luxury and they are priced strategically. And they are really strong leaders with hybrid and electric.”
The timeline for the new Genesis dealership location at 26 Commerce Drive is dependent on the Town of Fairfield’s approval by Plan and Zoning Commission. Mark Barnhart, the town’s community and economic development director, said he knew Balise was doing something with its Genesis dealership, but that the town has not been officially notified yet.
“We’re hard with Genesis to get final plans in place,” Balise said. “That’s going really well.”
As for notifying the town, Balise said he hopes to “have a package to the town in the next 90 days.”
Devan Infiniti, currently a tenant on the 26 Commerce Drive site will vacate by Dec. 1, according to Balise.
Officials from Devan could not be reached for comment regarding their future in Fairfield.
