Foothills Auto Group, of Spokane, is converting the east end of its Foothills Lincoln-Mercury Mazda dealership building into a new Mazda showroom.


Chris Marr, vice president of Foothills Auto, says work started last month at the North Side dealership on improvements to a 25,000-square-foot space that previously had been used for storage. The renovation work is expected to be completed next April.


The total cost of the project is expected to be $1.25 million, Marr says, with $1 million in construction costs and $250,000 in technology and equipment upgrades.


In addition to a new showroom, the renovated area will include 10 new service bays, which will give the facility a total of 46 bays. The new bays will be used to service new Mazdas and used cars.


Mooney & Pugh Contractors Inc., of Spokane, is the general contractor on the project, and Bernardo-Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, designed it.


Marr says the showroom will incorporate a new design scheme that Mazda recently rolled out for its dealerships. Foothills will be among the early adopters of the new look, he says.


The design scheme will include brightly colored exterior elements and a prominent use of glass, with a vehicle displayed in a glass box suspended from the ceiling near the showrooms entrance.


The rest of the building will receive some exterior improvements, Marr says.


Inside, the showroom will feature an open design.


The Mazda showroom currently is located at the west end of the building, and the dealership will have an extra showroom once that space is vacated. Marr says the dealership is considering creating separate showrooms for Lincoln and Mercury, which currently share showroom space at the dealership.


Foothills Auto Group also includes Honda of Spokane and Acura of Spokane, both of which are in Spokane Valley.


In all, Foothills Auto expects to finish 2004 with $63 million in sales. It currently has a total of about 150 employees.