After putting previous expansion plans on hold earlier this year, Parker Toyota is moving ahead with a $4 million project that will replace its service and showroom buildings and more than double the Coeur d'Alene dealership's floor space.

The project will involve two phases with a combined 60,000 square feet of floor space, says Jim Parker, who owns the dealership with his father, Doug Parker.

The dealership is located on 10 acres of land at the southwest corner of U.S. 95 and Kathleen Avenue.

The first phase will be a 30,000-square-foot service facility that will have 30 bays, including three oil and lube lanes, on the west side of the dealership. Once that building is completed, the 15-year-old shop, which has 18 service bays, will be dismantled to make room for a 30,000-square-foot showroom.

Parker says the footings are in place for the larger service area, and the walls have been going up this week.

Panco Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor on the project, and Miller Stauffer Architects PA, of Coeur d'Alene, designed it.

The service facility is scheduled to be completed in March and the showroom in July, Parker says.

A 6,000-square-foot car detailing and accessory facility on the southwest corner of the property will remain there, he says.

The current service area and showroom occupy about 24,000 square feet of space, Parker says. The dealership will donate the dismantled building components to Kootenai County, which plans to use them at the fairgrounds, he says.

Despite an industrywide auto sales slowdown, Parker asserts Toyota is faring better than other big car manufacturers, and the Coeur d'Alene dealership is having a "fine" year.

The dealership, which has been at its current location since 1991, has 130 employees, Parker says.