When you think of buying a new car in North Jersey, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Well, if it isn’t Park Ave BMW in Rochelle Park, then it certainly should be!
Park Ave BMW brought its unmatched style to a South Hackensack neighborhood when it finished the second phase of two construction projects across from each other at 490 and 530 Huyler Street. The Service Center building design was inspired by the BMW’s dashboard.
“We offer a complete selection of service, parts, sales, new and used cars, and we just opened up a new body shop,” says General Manager Wayne Carenza of the award-winning 75,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Service and Parts Center. With a $20-million investment, the dealership transformed two white elephant warehouses into complexes worthy of the BMW brand.
Unique in the industry, the Service and Parts Center embraces environmental sensitivity and sustainability as core values. “From the beginning, with the design of the building, we wanted to be environmentally responsible,” says Carenza. “We have radiant heat in our floors which uses waste oil that is collected from the automobiles and is then burned to heat our service facility.” Waste engine oil – even oil that is squeezed from oil filters – is recycled on-site and used by high-efficiency burners to create heat, with lower stack emissions than from a single-family home. “We also take the rainwater runoff from the roof and store it in two 4,000 gallon tanks so we can use it for irrigation.”
The family-owned and operated Park Ave BMW’s dedication to environmentally friendly operations earned them one of NJBIA’s New Good Neighbor Awards in 2016, after being nominated by the Mayor of Hackensack Township, the Honorable Gary Brugger.
“We were first exposed [to NJBIA] by being nominated for the New Good Neighbor award. Once we got to see the organization and be at the award ceremony, we realized the networking possibilities and all the people we meet through there, plus people that can help you with different problems in business. It gave us an opportunity to really get a bigger reach for our company.”
“Our membership with NJBIA gave us more exposure,” Carenza continues. “We pride ourselves on being a premium BMW facility and NJBIA gives us exposure through the entire state of New Jersey [about] who we are and what we do.”
“Membership with NJBIA is a great way to network throughout the state, to know what’s going on, what in business is changing, and what we need to do to stay on top of our game,” Carenza continues. Park Ave BMW hosted a NJBIA Young Professional Networking event back in June.
“The fee [to join] is very cost effective, so it’s really a ‘no brainer.’ To stay on top of things, to be able to network, to find benefits for your employees, it’s an all-around good thing. There’s no reason not to be a part of this association [NJBIA].”
Park Avenue BMW opened in 1978 in Rutherford, New Jersey in the remains of a former Ford dealership. After four years at that location, an explosion and a fire destroyed the original building and Park Ave moved their showroom to Passaic Street in Maywood. Over the years, Park Ave’s business continued to grow, and in May of 2009, they opened their current location on Route 17 in Rochelle Park. “We also have a new showroom going up and we just expanded our body shop,” Carenza says.
Park Ave BMW’s service center employs only highly skilled and trained BMW technicians who can provide quality repairs and maintenance as well as a friendly customer experience. All of their technicians are ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified and use state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that they can handle any vehicle or issue that they may come across.
“We are a family owned and operated facility. Our founder Roy Sommerhalter, Sr., just recently left us two years ago, but his son [Roy Jr.] has carried on and developed these properties to be state of the art and the best BMW facilities in New Jersey.”
