“Every seven to 10 years, automotive brands come up with a new look for their dealerships,” said Preston Hunter, vice president of Eckman Construction.
Though founded in Concord in 1924, Grappone has operated off Route 3A in Bow since the 1960s where they now sell Toyota, Honda, Ford, Mazda and Hyundai. The company is run by the fourth generation of the family, Amanda Grappone Osmer.
The Bow site would not accommodate a standalone Mazda building, so Grappone expanded back into Concord.
Eckman Construction of Bedford oversaw the demolition and construction on an underused 3.8-acre lot on Manchester Street that the company used for overflow vehicle storage.
Photo by John Guavin of Studio One
“They were looking to increase their sales and also increase their dealership showroom space and service areas with the goal of better serving their customers,” Hunter said.
Warrenstreet Architects of Concord adapted the national brand guidelines to look at how the building might work on the site, taking into account anticipated sales and service needs.
TFMoran of Bedford developed the structural engineering of the building, with consideration for the large spans needed to accommodate vehicles in the service bays and showroom.
“(Eckman) worked very closely with the architects and engineers to coordinate the project to ensure that, in the end, the final design, everything was going to fit where it needed to and meet the expectations and requirements of Mazda North America,” Hunter said.
The planning and design phase started in 2021.
Photo by Jarod Cain
Next was the demolition and removal of the existing building that was on the Manchester Street lot. There were also some hazardous materials removed in the process.
The ceremonial groundbreaking was held in the spring of 2022.
Nobis Engineering was brought in to handle the permitting and civil engineering, which included a complicated section of the excavation for connecting the new building to the city water and sewer lines.
Hunter said the soil below the road was all sand, which one might assume would be easier to excavate, but was actually a challenge because of the efforts needed to prevent cave-ins. The work had to be completed over the course of seven days and required the closure of one lane of traffic on Manchester Street, a heavily trafficked roadway.
The size of the parking contributed to a large impermeable surface, requiring a stormwater detention and filtration system to handle the runoff.
“The lot itself is quite large, because they want to maximize the amount of inventory, and that does create a lot of impervious surface,” Hunter said. “All of the rain and snowmelt creates a lot of stormwater, which was captured and treated in a large underground, chambered stormwater detention system, allowing the water to slowly filter back into the ground.”
Eckman was responsible for organizing all the details for the 26,000-square-foot dealership.
There were the Mazda branding requirements, including a showroom car lift dubbed “the jewel box,” plus the practical needs of the service center: toolboxes, fluid lines, waste oil storage, lifts and all manner of specialized equipment for vehicle maintenance.
Those details had to be sorted out early in the process before the concrete foundation and slab was poured. Lift components are recessed into the slab and lines for electrical and plumbing run throughout.
“There’s a lot of preplanning, a lot of dotting i’s and crossing t’s before the construction starts to make sure that everything is in the right place,” Hunter said. “Everything needs to fit like a Swiss clock, because there’s really no room for error.”
Photo by Jarod Cain
The building was built with structural steel by SL Chasse to support its size and the large spans needed for vehicle access.
Eckman Construction also leaned on that advance planning to cope with challenges the construction industry faced as it was recovering from the pandemic and supply chain disruptions.
“The construction industry went through some major challenges and major changes both with quickly escalating construction costs, subcontractor availability … but most importantly, some very long lead time items,” Hunter said. “We had to actually preorder a number of different components of the project in order to keep the schedule moving.”
While other foundations might have sat untouched for months, Eckman Construction didn’t face those kinds of delays because of their planning.
Photo by Jarod Cain
“The steel was able to be delivered immediately when we were ready for it,” Hunter said.
The only material setback they did face was with getting the transformer installed, which is necessary to run permanent electricity to the building.
“We didn’t have permanent power from the transformer until very late in the project,” Hunter said. “There has been an ongoing shortage of transformers, sometimes with lead times exceeding one year from when the work order is placed with the utility company.”
Ultimately, Unitil found a used transformer that met their needs.
Having local craftsmen working on the project also helped keep the project moving at a steady pace.
“This was very much a project that was built by local New Hampshire subcontractors,” Hunter said. “That was a real part of the success of the project.”
Only few small parts were completed by subs from elsewhere in New England.
“Everyone came together to complete the project quite a bit ahead of schedule,” he said.
With an eye toward its next century of operations, Grappone’s building features consider the impact on employees and the environment.
“(Grappone) viewed this as a long-term investment that reflects on their principles and core values of quality and service,” Hunter said.
The service bay area went above standards to have air conditioning and windows for employees to have access to natural light.
The building includes energy-efficiency technologies, including 295 solar panels. Grappone partnered with Revision Energy on a 141 kW system, which covers about 60% of Mazda’s electrical uses.
The site is outfitted with electric vehicle chargers, with room to add more as demand increases.
While there were some design elements that were mandated by the national brand, Grappone sought to add features beyond the scope.
“Amanda (Grappone Osmer) wanted to make sure that they had a large training center space,” Hunter said. “The Grappone group is very focused on workforce development and training, and they decided to add a second floor to the building.”
Photo by John Guavin of Studio One
As Grappone and Eckman Construction considered this second-floor space, they found an opportunity to make the space available for the greater Concord community, so if nonprofits need a meeting space, they can access a beautiful conference room and breakout space.
“That community benefit is pretty unique in commercial projects like this,” Hunter said. The community space also allowed the project to access some tax incentives.
“It’s worth underscoring that the Grappone Automotive Group really went above and beyond with the design of the building,” Hunter said. “They added a number of nice upgrades that reflect in the quality of the project. It has been recognized by Mazda Corporate leaders as one of, ‘the nicest, new Mazda dealerships that’s been built in North America.”
