Chehalis City Council Approves Lease With Auto Dealership

Plans: Honda Dealership to Be Constructed on Louisiana Avenue

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The Chehalis City Council approved a lease agreement with O’Brien Auto Team to construct a 24,000 square-foot Honda dealership on the Chehalis-Centralia Airport property at their Monday evening meeting.

The parcel of land that the O’Brien Auto Team, an Illinois corporation, will be leasing from the city is located at 1850 NW Louisiana Avenue between I-5 Toyota and Dutch Bros Coffee.

John Csernotta, president of Honda of Grays Harbor, spoke at the council meeting to explain more about his 30-plus year background in the automotive industry and his plans for the car dealership in Chehalis. Joe O’Brien, with the O’Brien Auto Group, has partnered with Csernotta to bring a Honda dealership to Chehalis.

“We are expanding our footprint and we would like to come to Chehalis and be a part of the community and open up another Honda store,” he said. “We truly believe it’s a win-win-win. It’s a win for Honda, it’s a win for the city and it’s a win for us personally investing here in a brand new facility.”

Csernotta and his partner, O’Brien, drew up a business plan with Honda in June of 2019, he said, and has been working closely with Chehalis city staff and the city attorney.

“Attorney John Elias has been in negotiations with the Chehalis-Centralia Airport on behalf of his client, the O’Brien Auto Team, to lease a site for an automobile dealership. The proposed site, Tract 9, is approximately four gross acres of land,” reads the Chehalis City Council agenda report

The O’Brien Auto Team has locations in Illinois, Kentucky and Washington. 

“O'Brien Automotive Team founder Joseph D. O'Brien Jr. has been selling cars and trucks for more than 45 years,” states the company’s website. 



More information about the O’Brien Auto Team can be found on their website at www.obrienteam.com/index.cfm.

The city will receive an initial lease revenue of $92,347.20 annually which is restricted for the operation of the Chehalis-Centralia Airport, the city council agenda states. The lease agreement has been reviewed by the city’s attorney.

The city council meeting and additional information about the lease can be viewed on the city’s website — www.ci.chehalis.wa.us.

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The story has been updated to correct errors in the original version.