Old Dealership to Sell Rod Baker 'Classic' Cars

A building that had been the original location for will find new life as the dealership’s “classic car” showroom.

The authorized its attorney Monday to draft a special use permit for the business at 15303 S. Joliet Road/U.S. 30, allowing the company to sell classic cars and to do minor auto repair and restoration work on site. Six to eight cars will be displayed outside.

Although the property is surrounded on three sides by houses and is zoned B-1, which doesn’t allow car dealerships, village officials said they do not believe the business will have any negative impact on the surrounding properties and, in fact, is a nice fit for the “historical character of the Joliet Road corridor.”

“The applicant’s dealership incorporates a number of historical characteristics and represents the type of dealerships which were common during the pre-war years (before World War II),” village Planner Michael Garrigan wrote in his report to the village board.

Rod Baker Ford opened in the location in 1963. It has since relocated to 16101 S. U.S. 30.

The only concern cited by staff was the potential for the business to end up being a used car lot, and as a result one proviso to be built into the agreement will prohibit the sale of new cars or autos deemed “non-classic.”

The special use permit will define a classic car as “a fine or distinctive automobile” and a custom car as “a vehicle that departs from the factory production model with aftermarket mechanical components, accessories or custom body styling.”