Hot Property: Morrie's Inver Grove Mazda renovation

Type: Automotive

Building size: 23,137 square feet

Lot size: 2.6 acres

Owner: KEH&H Properties

Architect: Darwin Lindahl Architects

Details: Hopkins-based Morrie's Automotive Group has purchased the former Inver Grove Heights Volkswagen dealership and is preparing to launch a showroom renovation and rebranding as Morrie's Inver Grove Mazda.

The dealership, once part of the Denny Hecker stable of car lots that disintegrated in 2009 with the auto mogul's financial collapse, has been a Lamettry's Collision auto body center in recent years but now is in line for a makeover by Morrie's.

In recent years, manufacturers have been pushing dealers to refurbish their showrooms, turning drab, functional spaces into sleek plazas that resemble offices or shopping malls.

Architect Darwin Lindahl's plans for the new Morrie's include cladding the south side of the existing building with architectural-grade metal panels of varying colors and textures, meant to exemplify Mazda's "sports car aesthetic."

The south side of the dealership is its most visible, facing Hwy. 110.

A small addition to the building would include metal panels, while the rest of the structure would get a fresh paint job.