Roseville may foot half the bill for a $6 million plan to give a face-lift to the approximately mile-long wall surrounding the region's first auto mall.
The Roseville City Council is tentatively scheduled to consider an agreement Wednesday night with the Roseville Automall Association.
The Roseville Automall was developed through a 1988 partnership between the city and the association. It was the first public/private partnership of its kind in the region, and the first such agreement in the city's history, Deputy City Manager Julia Burrows said.
The wall around the mall's 16 auto dealerships is owned by the city and sits on city land.
"It was built 16 years ago, so it's time for a face-lift," Burrows said, adding that the city kept ownership of the wall to maintain control of its original investment.
Under the proposed agreement with auto mall owners, the city would contribute as much as $3 million to repair and upgrade the wall.
"From an aesthetic standpoint, (the new wall) will be very attractive and definitely provides more visibility to what's actually happening inside the property," Burrows said.
Funding for the project likely will come from the city's strategic improvement fund, which receives money from a community benefit fee charged to homeowners in some development projects.
Damon Eberhart, whose firm Eberhart & Co. is the auto mall's business manager, said the wall originally was intended to hide the backside of dealerships and keep operations within the Automall Drive loop.
"As time evolved and competition increased, it's become apparent that there's a need to modernize the wall," Eberhart said. "The members have spent a great deal of money modernizing their dealerships within the auto mall, so it's time to update the wall on the outside."
Sections of the wall also will be opened up to include display areas, where dealerships will rotate vehicles.
"It has a dual purpose: to update and beautify the wall and provide increased exposure to the public of what's on the inside of the wall," Eberhart said.
"You'd be surprised how many people in Roseville drive around that area not knowing what's on the other side of the wall."
The Roseville City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Wed-nesday in the Civic Center Council Chambers, 311 Vernon St.
Call The Bee's Jennifer K. Morita, (916) 773-7388.
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