George Gee Automotive has begun site work for a new Hummer dealership facility and off-road test track just east of its main, multi-dealership building in Liberty Lake.


The planned 5,700-square-foot building, which is expected to cost more than $2 million, is slated for completion in December, says George Gee, the dealerships owner.


The new Hummer building will be of a new design that General Motors Corp., which makes the rugged, military-like Hummer vehicles, recently developed as the prototype for future Hummer dealerships, Gee says. The design includes a prominent amount of glass in a structure thats partially shaped like a Quonset hut. A huge H of the style used in the Hummers logo will be prominent in the front of the building.


Youll know what it is right away when you see it, Gee says.


The planned off-road test track will be located just north of the new building and will feature a number of obstacles designed to allow the Hummer to exhibit its abilities on rugged terrain.


Ramey Construction Co., of Spokane, is building the Hummer structure.


The 2.5-acre site will give the dealership more room to display its H1 and H2 Hummer models, as well as the H3, which is scheduled to come out in spring 2005, Gee says.


The Hummer line, which George Gee Automotive has carried since last August, currently shares space in the main dealership building, along with three other GM makes, Pontiac, GMC, and Buick.


That main, 68,000-square-foot dealership building, at 21502 E. Mission, sits on 7.5 acres of land and includes a 44-bay service department, which will continue to handle Hummer service work.


The Gee dealership developed and moved into that dealership building in 2000. The dealership, which Gee has owned since 1983, previously had been located at 8801 E. Sprague.