---

---

Atlee Auto Service is leaving its location at the intersection of Chamberlayne Avenue and Atlee Road as Walgreens prepares to build on the site. The drug store will be joined by a bank, retail businesses and a fast food restaurant, while the 26-year-old auto service company will relocate to a well-known property.

Published: December 29, 2008
Melody Kinser

A familiar sight on U.S. 301 will be removed as progress expands in an ever-growing area of Hanover County.

Atlee Auto Service is moving “down the road” from its current location at the intersection of Chamberlayne Avenue and Atlee Road to the property where “the car on the pole” is situated.

Just off the highway and rising high above those passing by, the car—reportedly a Crosley—is considered a landmark by some. Unfortunately, according to Atlee Auto Service owner Dennis Young, it is not structurally sound to be refurnished.

He and his partner, Richard Hollins, originally hoped to have the car repaired and returned to its “home” atop the pole.

With Atlee Auto Service moving, Walgreens is proceeding on occupying the space. The neighboring American Legion Post also is selling its property.

Residents also will be vacating for the development of a bank, retail businesses and a fast food restaurant.

Some community concerns about signage and lighting were expressed when a rezoning request came before the Hanover County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 22.

When it was agreed that there would be a limitation on the hours of operation, as well as servicing of dumpsters, the board unanimously approved the rezoning application. Atlee Auto Service Inc., Trustees of American Legion Post and Janet O. and Jay T. Thompson III (Mid-Atlantic Commercial Properties) submitted the request to rezone, providing for retail, office and restaurant uses.

The Walgreens will operate 24 hours seven days a week, while the other businesses will be open with hours ranging from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In late October, Young looked about the property he was purchasing, calling it “a higher standard of development for the 301 corridor.“

With plans to construct a new building, he grinned as he scanned the site, talking about tearing down the existing buildings and relocating.

The new property offers two acres, with a 15,000-square-foot auto facility to be built on the site. A 50-foot-wide road also is in the plans. The shape of the building will have the bay doors facing the inside, Young added.

Now that the supervisors have endorsed their plans thus far, Young and Hollins are targeting a July date to open their new Atlee Auto Service. They have owned the “all auto repair” business for nine years, but it has been in operation for 26 years.

As he prepares to move down the road, Young said he and Hollins are comfortable with their decision and excited about a new facility. He also is confident that his clients will follow them. “We have a good, strong customer base.“

Young said their business can handle “anything auto related.“ With pride, he said Atlee Auto Service has 19 employees, full- and part-time, as well as nine mechanics.

Atlee Auto Service is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on the weekends.

——-

According to the Web site, http://crosleyautoclub.com, Crosley Motors Incorporated had its main office and engineering facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, with assembly plants in Richmond, Ind., and Marion, Ind. The car was the brainchild of Powel Crosley, who had already made his fortune as a radio and appliance manufacturer. He was owner of WLW, the “Nation’s Station,“ and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.

---