Urban land crunch drives auto dealerships to rethink space

The plan for a new Audi dealership in Toronto’s suburban Richmond Hill upends the classic concept of car lot. Rather than sprawling rows of shiny new models, preowned vehicles and service bays along the highway, this dealership will be in a corner of a twin-tower residential complex. The showroom will share a green roof with the residences and its service department will be on the fourth level of underground parking.

It’s part of a rapidly growing trend to rethink dealerships that typically covered big parcels of land, says Stefanie Siu-Chong, principal at architecture firm BDP Quadrangle. “Urban land is being priced out of reach and online shopping makes it less important to have a whole inventory on hand.”