More than a year after the Hawk Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership acquired the former Currie Motors dealership next door, it’s finally doing something with it.
The dealership, a long-time presence near the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Desplaines Avenue, is looking to separate the Jeep sales operations and move it into the Currie building, which is closer to the intersection. Steve Glinke, the village’s director of public health and safety, told the Review that his department is currently reviewing the dealership’s permits.
“No date has been provided for the completion of this project,” he added.
Remodeling of the exterior of the dealership is already underway.
Joe Crane, who heads the dealership operations, confirmed the plans. He was not able to comment further by deadline.
The dealership at the northwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Desplaines Avenue wraps around the east and north sides of the current Hawk dealership. It started as Gleason Chevrolet. The late Jerry Gleason owned it for decades before selling it to Auto Nation group. However, the land that the dealership was sitting on and the physical building remained in the Gleason family.
According to Patrick Gleason, Jerry Gleason’s son, his father’s ex-wife, Mary Gleason, bought the property. She passed it on to her daughter, Maureen Joyce.
In 2007, Currie Motors bought the Chevy dealership, but it moved the operations to 8401 Roosevelt Rd., where it previously had a Chrysler dealership. That move came after Currie was unable to get a rent reduction Joyce. While Currie toyed with moving back to the site in 2017, nothing ultimately came of it.
According to county property records, on Aug. 25, 2022, Tri-State Land Partners, an LLC associated with Hawk owner Joe Crane, took out a $7.18 million mortgage from Ally Bank. The LLC also paid off a $40,242 lien the Village of Forest Park had on the property. The village placed the lien on the site on June 3, 2016 due to unpaid water bills.
