By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
ORION TWP. — For the Skalnek family, their Skalnek Ford dealership in Lake Orion has been all about family for 60 years.
And not just their immediate family, but their employees – many of whom have been with the auto dealership for more than 20 years, some more than 40 years – and longtime customers who they call family as well.
On Thursday, Skalnek Ford President Richard Skalnek, his wife Kim, sons Ryan and Trey and daughter Kellie Gehringer, surrounded by family, friends and employees, held a groundbreaking ceremony for Skalnek’s new, approximately 52,000 square foot facility being built at 1900 S. Lapeer Rd. in Orion Township.
“It’s a big event for our employees and our family. It’s great to be able to do this in Lake Orion. I’ve been here all my like, I’ve seen a lot of changes and I’ve seen a lot of changes in our business,” said Richard, who took over the business from his father, founder George Skalnek. “We’ve been able to grow with the community and from the community supporting us, this is what it brings. New life to the community, new projects. I think it’s all good for Lake Orion.”
The start of the project comes as the Skalnek’s are celebrating 60 years in business, all of it family owned in Lake Orion. George Skalnek bought and started Skalnek Ford in Lake Orion In 1964.
“I started running the store in 1976 and now I have my sons Ryan and Trey that are working for us,” Richard said.
Ryan, part of the management team at Skalnek Ford, said they are planning for the project to take about 14 months for buildout, with a completion date approximately in the first quarter of 2026.
“This move has been a long time coming. It’s been in the works for some time. Our current facility is older and we need more space. As Lake Orion has grown, our business has grown,” said Ryan. “We started looking a couple of years ago and were able to acquire the properties for the new location.”
The new facility will replace the existing dealership, but until it is operational, customers can still visit the current location at 941 S. Lapeer Rd. and get the same services without interruption, Ryan said.
“It’s going to be Ford’s latest Trustmark look. Very modern, very customer friendly, a beautiful looking building is what’s going to end up here,” Richard said. “While this is being built we’re going to keep the other property; however, we’re looking to develop the other property once we leave there. We found that we were a little landlocked where we are presently at (and) needed a little more room.”
With the new, larger facility, Ryan said he expects the business to grow as well.
“We anticipate that we’re going to be hiring additional people. The biggest thing that I tell people is that it’s going to be great for our employees, our customers and ultimately the community,” Ryan said. “I think any investment in the community from a business standpoint is great for our area. We’ll adding more technicians for service, we’ll be adding more sales staff for our sales department. We’re looking forward to it.”