Wilmette Jaguar Dealership Closes

WILMETTE, IL — The distinctive, Tudor-style building across the street from the Metra station on Green Bay Road of Wilmette is no longer home to the Imperial Motors Jaguar dealership due to cost of a mandated makeover of the building and a consolidation effort by parent company Jaguar Land Rover to combine stand-alone franchises. There's no immediate word on what will replace it or how much tax revenue will be lost the village, but a city official described the lost money to Wilmette Life as "not-insignificant."

In its announcement of the closing of the Wilmette location, Imperial Motors said it was planning to expand outside of the Chicago Area.

“We are thankful to our loyal customers, the community and the village of Wilmette who have embraced our business for over 60 years," said owner Allen Aron. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Wilmette — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

"We have been the custodians of the 700 block of Green Bay Road since 1953. We intend to develop our property in a way that benefits the community and is in alignment with the Village of Wilmette’s master plan," Aron said.

A year ago, the Village of Wilmette approved a plan by Imperial Motors to redesign the building to bring it into compliance with requirements set by corporate headquarters and avoid punishment from the Britain-based company, Pioneer Press reported.

Instead of paying $8 million to remodel the 721 Green Bay Road site, the Aron family told the paper it has made the difficult decision to move operations to its Lake Bluff location, which will also have to be remodeled.

"This fabulous, beautiful, English-looking architecture was so pretty," Aron told Wilmette Life. "I did not want to deface Wilmette, I did not want to deface the block."

» Read more from Kathy Routliffe in Wilmette Life

_{Top photo: Imperial Motors Jaguar Dealership on Green Bay Road}