Tom Addis, who owns two auto dealerships in Coeur dAlene, is buying Jackson Motors Inc., a longtime Ford dealership in Newport, Wash., and will move that dealership to a new location there.


Addis company, Tom Addis Automotive Group, expects to close the transaction within a few weeks, he says. He declines to disclose the purchase price.


Once the sale is final, Addis will move Jackson Motors from 137 S. Washington, where the dealership has been located since 1948, to leased space near the southwest corner of the intersection of U.S. 2 and Idaho state Route 41, he says. That location, which is just inside the Washington state border, formerly was a Chevrolet dealership, but has been vacant for several years, Addis says.


In preparation for the move, Addis has resurfaced the sales lot at the new location, has replaced lights, and has painted the building the dealership will use, he says.


Following the move, which is expected by mid-October, the dealerships name will be changed to Tom Addis Newport Ford, he says. The dealership will employ about 15 people, he adds.


Addis has owned Tom Addis Dodge Inc. and Lake City Ford Lincoln Mercury Inc., both in Coeur dAlene, for 16 years, he says. He employs about 190 people in those two operations.


The acquisition in Newport wont be Addis first venture outside of Coeur dAlene: He owned a Ford dealership in Chewelah, Wash., for a dozen years before selling it in 1987, he says.