$17M dealership opens on boulevard

April 26--After more than a year of work, Reinhardt Motors celebrated the opening of its new $17 million facility at 720 East Blvd. this week.

The 84,000-square-feet dealership officially opened its doors earlier this month. It's more than twice the size of the old Toyota dealership and will allow Reinhardt to handle sales for Toyota, Scion and Lexus in two separate buildings. The new facility also will handle all repairs and service work, with 42 new service bays and upgrades such as automated wash and wax systems.

It will also mean 33 more workers for the business.

City leaders gathered for a ribbon-cutting this week, a year after they visited the site for the groundbreaking ceremony. The company secured financing through BB&T while work was ongoing, but the company was so committed to the plans that it started the project using its own money.

Company president Mike Reinhardt said last March those plans came together piece by piece over a decade despite the recession. "Our families and our community have been behind this, so here we are," he said.

Charter store

moving after fire

Charter Communications has moved into a temporary home in Prattville and started plans for a new store in Montgomery after a fire at the company's old Montgomery location last week.

A company representative said the former location at 5990 Monticello Drive was badly damaged by last week's blaze. The adjacent Charter offices are being repaired, but the store -- where people pay their bills, pick up cable boxes and more -- won't reopen at the former location.

On Tuesday, Charter opened a temporary store at 254 Commercial Park Loop in Prattville. It will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the next few months.

"Charter customers will still be able to pay their bill, transfer or subscribe to new service," said Pattie Eliason, vice president of Charter stores. "We sincerely appreciate our customers' patience while we work at this temporary location."

Customers who normally pay their bill at a Charter Store or need assistance with their service can call 1-888-GET-CHARTER or visit charter.net.

The company had already planned to build a new Montgomery store soon, a Charter spokeswoman said. Those plans have now been put in motion, but there was no timetable available yet for the new store's construction.

State Farm

office opens

There's another State Farm insurance agency in town.

Ken Bishop has opened a State Farm office at 2101 East Blvd., suite 420 in The Courtyard shopping center. Bishop and his team opened the doors earlier this month, but they're planning a grand opening for May.

Bishop has more than seven years of experience in the industry. He and his family are lifelong Montgomery residents.

There are more than 30 State Farm agents in the River Region, according to the company.

In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, the company's agents nationwide serve nearly 80 million auto, home, life, health and commercial policies, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats, and motorcycles, is available.

State Farm ranked No. 41 on the 2014 Fortune 500 list of largest companies.

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