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- James Clifton posted that the dealership would not renew its lease, later noting DHP Property Holdings LLC owns the property.
- Eddie Stivers said the claim is false and the dealership is under a five-year lease, less than one year elapsed.
- During due diligence they found environmental contamination near a former dry-cleaner; contamination is limited and requires remediation before purchase.
- The owner has 18 months to remediate; if cleared Stivers must buy, if not they may remain under lease or seek another Fayette County site.
Stivers Ford says it has no plans to leave Fayetteville, despite a widely shared social media post stating that the dealership had decided not to renew its lease on its downtown property.
In an Aug. 4 Facebook post, Fayette County Commission candidate James Clifton wrote that the City of Fayetteville was in discussions with the Ford dealership to acquire the property “after the dealership decided to not renew its lease on the property.”
Clifton later updated the post to note that DHP Property Holdings LLC owns the property and said any discussion about purchasing the property or renewing the lease would go through that company.
But Eddie Stivers, president of Stivers Ford South, told The Citizen that the assertion that the dealership had decided not to renew its lease was incorrect.
“Any allegation that I have not non-renewed a lease is patently false,” Stivers said. “Any allegation that we’re packing up the business is patently false.”
Stivers said the dealership has a five-year lease on the property and is not yet one year into that lease. He said the arrangement stems from an environmental issue discovered during the company’s purchase of the dealership.
Stivers said his company purchased the dealership business and its assets from the prior owner, along with the transfer of the Ford franchise. A separate agreement called for Stivers to purchase the real estate at the same time.
As part of its normal due diligence, however, Stivers said the company conducted environmental testing and found contamination in the back corner of the property near a former dry-cleaning business.
“This is not unusual when you have downhill proximity to very old dry cleaners,” Stivers said. “This is a very routine thing to fix.”
Stivers said the contamination is limited to the back of the property and does not affect the operation of the automobile dealership.
He said the contamination needed to be remediated before his company would purchase the property.
To allow the dealership transaction to move forward, Stivers said the parties instead entered into a lease while the property owner addresses the environmental issue. According to Stivers, the property owner has 18 months to properly remediate the site.
If that happens, Stivers said his company is obligated to purchase the property. If it does not, the dealership can remain under its five-year lease while Stivers looks for another Fayette County property on which to build a new facility.
“We have absolutely no intention at this time to not be in business there,” Stivers said.
His preference, he said, is to remain on the existing property and eventually replace the current dealership with a modern Ford facility.
“We would prefer to be right there and build a new facility there,” Stivers said, “but obviously we need to do it on a certified clean site.”
Even if the existing property cannot ultimately be purchased, Stivers said the company intends to stay in Fayette County.
“We have no plans to abandon our market,” he said.
Stivers said his family has operated Ford dealerships for three generations and that Ford represents more than half of the family dealership group’s holdings. He serves as president of Stivers Ford South and vice president of E.M. Stivers Inc.
Whether the City of Fayetteville has been involved in discussions about acquiring the property remains less clear.
The Citizen placed a call to Fayetteville Mayor Ed Johnson seeking clarification but had not heard back by press time.
The Citizen also contacted Fayetteville Director of Economic Development Lori Funderwhite about Stivers Ford.
“Thank you for reaching out,” Funderwhite wrote. “Due to non-disclosure and confidentiality restrictions, I am unable to comment or provide any information regarding this matter.”
Funderwhite’s response neither confirmed nor denied that discussions involving the property are taking place.
The Citizen also reached out to Niki Vanderslice with the Fayette County Development Authority, who said she was unaware of any alternative plans for the Stivers Ford property.
Whatever conversations may have occurred between the property owner and city officials, Stivers said his dealership has not made a decision to leave Fayetteville.
“We’re very happy to be there,” he said.
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