The Chelsea Chevrolet Buick auto dealership is considering becoming the first occupant of a Sylvan Township parcel of land at M-52 and I-94 that was rezoned into a business park district last year.

The long-time Chelsea dealership is exploring the construction of a new dealership on a 3-acre piece of land at 2038 McKernan St., off of M-52 and south of I-94 and a half-mile from its current location, said Emil Magier, general manager and one of the dealership’s owners.

The Sylvan Township Planning Commission will review a preliminary site plan and the application for a special use permit for the project when it meets Thursday.

The dealership, which opened in the early 1970s and leases its current building, needs a slightly larger and more modern facility, Magier said. The new dealership would be about 25,000 square feet.

“It’s a little tired here. A little outdated," he said.

The dealership has a purchase agreement on the land in the business park that is contingent on zoning approval, Magier said. Sylvan Township last year rezoned the acreage from agriculture to business park, said Township Supervisor Bob Lange.

“With our water and sewer serving the area, we wanted to open it up for more business. We felt a business park would give us more opportunity," he said, adding that it would increase the township's tax base.

Still, with the state economy mired in a long slump, Lange said the township was not expecting an immediate building boom.

There are a number of permitted uses for the land, said Tom Caplis, township zoning administrator, including financial institutions, real estate offices, research labs and printing businesses. Because a car dealership isn’t included on the specific list, it must obtain a special use permit, he said.

“It’s an appropriate use, but it’s not spelled out as a permitted use,” Lange said. That would require approval from the Planning Commission and eventually the Board of Trustees.

A second option, Magier said, would be to buy the land the current dealership occupies, raze it and build a new facility. Magier said a decision won’t be made until after the zoning issue has been decided — probably sometime this fall or winter. He said he’d like construction to start next spring.

Magier owns the dealership with partners Donna Harvey and Nadin Saab. They also own Grass Lake Chevrolet.

If Chelsea Chevrolet Buick moves, it would be the second car dealership to leave the city in recent years.

The 95-year-old Chelsea Palmer Ford dealership, which claimed to be the oldest Ford dealership in the state, closed in 2009.

On the other hand, it wouldn’t be moving far, said Bob Pierce, executive director of the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.

“If they just move across the highway, they are hardly leaving Chelsea,” he said.

Janet Miller is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com.