Group 1 Automotive Acquires 15-Acre Site Along I-35 in Buda

Group 1 Automotive, an international chain of auto dealerships, bought property along I-35 in Buda. The company isn't yet saying what its plans are for the site.

Courtesy of Google Earth

The cluster of auto dealerships along Interstate 35 in Buda and South Austin could be about to grow with Group 1 Automotive’s purchase of a 15-acre plot along the highway.

The international company isn’t ready to share plans it might have for the vacant site, spokesperson Kimberly Barta said in an email.

It purchased the property, which is just north of I-35 and Turnersville Road, on Aug. 22 from an entity linked with the California real estate firm IHP Capital Partners for an undisclosed price, Hays County property records show.

The purchase marks the second major investment Group 1 has made in the area this year. In May, it bought the Mercedes-Benz of South Austin dealership, which is about 4 miles north of the new property. As of that month, it had 263 dealerships in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, according to a news release.

"We think that the Buda South Austin market is a great place for our company to grow," Barta said in the email.

Group 1, a publicly traded company based in Houston, now has eight dealerships in Austin and four in San Antonio, according to its website.

The newly acquired property is directly north of City Limits Subaru and near other dealerships such as Leif Johnson Ford of Buda and Onion Creek Volswagen.