The construction of Chuck and JoAnne Haselwood’s newest dealership at the Bremerton Auto Center is now complete. The state-of-the-art facility is one of the finest in the nation, and includes all the latest tools for marketing automobiles, parts, and services imaginable.

It is also very customer-friendly, including a supervised children’s play area, multi-media waiting rooms, a latte stand, and private executive work stations similar to those found in airline lounges — complete with internet connections for laptop computers.

“We wanted to build a facility that met the needs of all our customers — no matter what walk of life they come from,” said an obviously proud Hal Cox, general manager of the dealership. “A lot of planning went into this building and the result is what we believe is the best facility for not only selling automobiles, but taking care of the customers we serve, whether they’re here to buy a car, have their vehicle serviced or for any other reason. We wanted it to be the best there is and for people to feel extremely comfortable when they’re here, no matter what the reason.”

The facility was designed by Bremerton’s Rice Fergus Architects and built by James Robinson Construction. “We make it a point to use local companies whenever possible,” said JoAnne Haselwood. “We have to support local business if we expect them to support us.”

One notable addition to the dealership is the addition of two new lines of cars — Cadillac and Oldsmobile. According to Cox, General Motors (GM) wants certain vehicle alignments at its dealerships and is strongly encouraging dealers nationwide to conform. The Haselwoods purchased the Cadillac and Oldsmobile franchises from longtime Bremerton dealer Martin Hoover, who in turn purchased the Kia franchise from them. The Haselwoods now sell the entire GM line — Buick Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile Pontiac and GMC trucks at two facilities adjacent to each other. Locally, they also own Heartland Toyota, West Hills Honda and the local Jeep franchise, as well as owning Lexus of Bellevue, Lexus of Fife and Acura of Southcenter. Cox added that they’re always on the lookout for other ownership opportunities.

In addition to being designed to maximize the automobile buying and service experience, the new dealership also boasts state-of-the-art environmental considerations. Auto dealerships are mandated to conform to a laundry list of environmental rules and regulations, especially where hazardous waste such as used oil, air conditioner coolant, solvents and other chemicals used routinely are concerned. The new facility exceeds a great number of them.

“It’s only a matter of time before a lot of what we did here will be required,” noted Cox. “We felt that as good corporate citizens, we have an obligation to do the best we can by the environment. It also made sense from a financial standpoint. It’s easier to build things like retention pits like as we did with the lifts in the service bays and the solvent storage areas now, than to retrofit if they become mandated by the government.”

The facility is also a state-of-the-art place for the people who work there as well. There are high-tech conference rooms, sales training areas and employee lounges. The offices for the parts and service managers are positioned in such a way that they have windows to view the activity at the sales counter and the work areas.

“We’re real proud of this place,” said Cox. “It’s the simply the best. That’s what our customers have come to expect from us and it’s what we want to deliver.”.