Al Monjazeb and Phil Smart Sr. in a promotional photo sent out by the dealership after its sale

Capitol Hill’s longtime Mercedes Benz dealership will be gone by next summer. CHS reported on the sale of the dealership in February and checked in with the new ownership and the family that operated the business — and has owned the land it sits on — for decades.

The dealership is moving to a new Airport Way facility, slated for a grand opening in 2013. Manager Jason Kim told CHS construction on the new facility will start in 2-3 months and the move will take place as soon as construction ends.

“Right now we’re at the mercy of the construction schedule,” he said.

The Smart family has retained ownership of the property, which occupies most of the block between Pike and Pine. Kim told CHS he wasn’t aware of the family’s intentions for the property, and calls to Smart representatives were not returned.

600 E Pike (Image: CHS)

With last week’s news of a new developer coming forward to buy the old BMW property on E Pike, the Smart property is also expected to hit the market and provide yet another Pike/Pine development opportunity.

The Smart family owned dealership opened at Belmont and E Pike in 1959.

Al Monjazeb, who owns three other luxury dealerships, purchased the business from the Smart family earlier this year.

Here’s what the dealership had to say after the sale:

As one of the first Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the country, the Phil Smart family has serviced the Pacific Northwest with genuine, family oriented care for their clients and staff, for the last five decades.

 

Recently, Al Monjazeb — whom has known Phil Smart Sr. and Phil Smart Jr. for some time, was given the opportunity to acquire this legacy dealership and continue the family traditions and philosophies of a highly principled, locally owned business.  Al graciously accepted this offer and is proud to continue the Smart legacy as the newly named Mercedes-Benz of Seattle.

 

Like Phil Smart Sr., Al entered the auto industry after college and became an auto dealer in 1984 in San Diego.  Since then, he has owned a Volvo dealership and two BMW dealerships and now currently owns Jaguar/Land Rover of Bellevue, Jaguar/Land Rover of Seattle (located in Lynnwood), Bentley, Rolls Royce and Lamborghini of Bellevue.

 

As owner and operator, Al believes that through offering the best working environment to his staff and providing the best possible services and products to our clients,

 

You have the highest confidence of both Phil Sr. and Al that the exceptional service provided during the last fifty years will only get better!

 

Thank you for your continued loyalty. We all look forward to seeing you soon.

 

Jason Kim

Client Relations Manager

Artist rendering of the new SoDo dealership (Image: Mercedes of Seattle)

 

What’s to come:

 In approximately 500 days, look for a state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz dealership that we will be consolidating to, at our 2025 Airport Way South location (near Safeco Field) around the summer of 2013. Until then, we look forward to seeing you soon at either one of our one of two convenient locations in Seattle.

• 84,000 square feet of indoor showroom.

• Full service deli and cafe.

• High Tech WI-FI work stations.

• VIP Client lounge.

• Dual State-of-the-Art autmatic car washes.

• A larger luxury inventory and network of brands through your locally owned dealership network.

• The highest levels of customer service features and personal attention.

• An extensive shuttle network.