A deal to bring a new car dealership to one of the empty buildings and lots on the edge of Camp Verde town limits closest to Cottonwood is in place.
“It’s all ready to go,” Mayor Charlie German said.
The new dealership will sell Fords.
Over the past few days, crews have been working to resurface the auto lot and get the building ready to open for business.
The auto lot, previously operated by Steve Coury, has been empty for weeks.
The business will be opened by Tom Jones, under the name Jones Ford.
The dealership already has locations in Buckeye and Wickenburg.
The dealership location was annexed into town limits through a February 2005 agreement that provided tax benefits to Steve Coury’s business.
The dealership had been advertising before that people who bought a vehicle wouldn’t have to pay any municipal sales taxes, as prior to the agreement the business was in an unincorporated area of Camp Verde.
The agreement provided for the owners of the dealership to have access to any potential development opportunities on the 25-acre parcel of land off of State Route 260.
The Town of Camp Verde also agreed to reimburse the town for some of the money lost by the dealership through charging a local sales tax following the annexation, according to the original agreement signed by then-Mayor Mitch Dickinson.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, July 22, edition of The Camp Verde Journal.
