Continuing the auto legacy

WORLAND – When Worland Ford-Chrysler closed its doors on Feb. 15, it seemed that the legacy of 500 Big Horn Avenue being the longest-running automobile dealership in Worland had come to an end. That is until Midway Auto, which opened in Worland in 2006, purchased the building to expand their Worland used car and RV (recreational vehicle) dealership.

Worland Midway Auto Sales Manager Ryan Green said, "We were always looking to expand in the area and we've been looking for properties. We knew the afternoon that this came open and tried to give them a week or so to breath and then we came and made an offer. There were actually four different businesses that bid on it, from what I was told. But we were the only ones that wanted to keep it as an entire unit. Everybody else wanted to split it up into different parts and I think the owner wanted to see it stay as a functional auto dealership. It's been that since the 1940s. This used to be a bunch of different businesses, three or four different businesses, including the original car dealership. There used to be a restaurant that serviced the train depot, the basement actually, from what I was told, used to be the kitchen for the restaurant,"

"There's a lot of history, there are a lot of memories. How many people in town bought their first vehicle here, even grandma and grandpa from the 40s and 50s? A lot of memories were made here for a lot of people in the community and we hope to make more memories for more people. I think a lot of people associate the location with being a car dealership and so we wanted to follow in that trend and bring it back to life because it was falling apart." Green said.

Midway's original plan was to have the location up and running by the end of July, but the damage to the building was too severe; from water damage, structural damage, roofing damage to the showroom floor sinking into the basement which is constantly filling up with water, which at times is being pumped out at a few hundred gallons an hour, Green said.

"Just simple stuff like between the parts store and this building, there are full on trees, like this big around (8-10 inches circumference) that grew up from weeds. That's why the roof over there is ruined because it was just filled with leaves which freezing and thawing caused the roof to pull apart," Green said. "We cut off the top and need to get the rest of it out," he added.

"A lot of people have said that we should have just torn it down, but to tear down a building this big would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was cost effective to fix the building. It would have been better business wise, not dollar wise, to tear it down and put the building back there (car lot) and then all of our merchandise would be in front. Nobody can see the merchandise and we can't see the merchandise so we are going to have cameras, motion sensors and security stuff set up," Green said.

Besides needing to fix the different types of damage, old wiring has been an issue. "One of the trials has been the old wiring, especially for communications stuff, because there is wiring on top of wiring on top of wiring and 98 percent of it is not used anymore. It's just a nightmare. I had to trace all the wires in here (temporary sales office) back myself, and rewire everything so that we could actually have phone and internet over here," Green said.

The alley behind the now temporary sales office had a sinkhole which was a hazard and got bigger every time someone drove over it. Green explained that when a person stepped on the area the cement would roll under a person's feet. He stated that he appreciates the city of Worland fixing the issue as it definitely wasn't safe for anyone. "I definitely want to thank the city for coming out and doing it when it's not prime time and it's cold, because they are going to have to blanket it and keep it heated the whole week that it cures," Green said.

Midway Auto is open for business at this time utilizing both lots, one for vehicles and one for RVs, despite the construction, operating out of a temporary office until the work is complete. Green stated that their service area is open and that as the business grows they will be adding more mechanics to service the community and the dealership. At their previous location vehicles requiring more than minor repairs had to be taken by flatbed trailer to the Cody office. He also stated that as the business continues to grow that they plan on offering both sales and service for RVs.

Midway hopes construction will be done soon. "Hopefully we will be done before the end of the year, that's the goal now. We are pretty close to done, once we get the ceilings and the floors done," Green said.

"It's a big space, its huge; this is going to be the biggest location that Midway has now as far as square footage in the building. It will be really nice once it's all finished," Green said.

"We are looking forward to being the dealership in Worland. We hope to be a bigger part of the community as we go and grow and be more involved in the community than we already are."

Midway, which leased the land for their previous lot at 1800 Big Horn, is looking to rent the office building on the lot, Green said.