Nov 14, 2008 9:58 pm US/Pacific
Elk Grove Dealership Crushed By Economic Pressure
ELK GROVE (CBS13) ―
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Saturn of Elk Grove closed its doors today.
CBS
No too long ago, Elk Grove was booming with growth. In fact, it was fastest growing city in the country at one time.
Tonight, it's forced to pay the price for the nation's faltering economy. The city took a big hit today with another dealership closure.
Customers who bought at Elk Grove Saturn came back for a tune-up today to find their dealership closed.
"I guess I need to look for another Saturn agency...'cause I don't know exactly where one is," said Nick Lobera, Saturn customer.
Saturn is now the third dealership to close in Elk Grove this year. The place that made headlines as the fastest-growing city in the country two years ago, now finds itself with an empty lot for its town center mall, and has empty spaces where developers had planned to build new homes.
Curt Cook just bought his brand new house next to a dirt lot on a short sale.
"I think its going to be a while before the market picks up before they can really start building again," said Curt.
But despite these grim realities, Elk grove is managing well. First, in housing, of the more than 51,000 homes in city limits, only 11,000 are bank-owned; that's two percent -- well below Sacramento County's average. And the city's reliance on the Elk Grove Auto Mall to generate money hasn't created a big problem in its record books yet. Second, the city's projected $52 million budget this year leaves a surplus of $10 million.
For those people laid off at the Saturn dealership today, those numbers don't reflect their bottom line.
"You know, hopefully things will start turning around for us," said Todd Parker, former Saturn of Elk Grove mechanic. "That's really about it at this point."
But if things don't turn around, how long will Elk Grove be able to steer clear of an economy that's running on empty?
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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