Brown Back in Game with Big Plans in AZ

Henry Brown, a former top Chevy dealer before he sold his store to a dealership chain, is back in the game with ambitious plans at a new auto mall under construction in Gilbert AZ.

Brown says an original 13 acres wasn't enough. So he is buying 15 more acres at the Santan Motorplex.

The 130-acre site will be the nation's largest master-planned auto park. Its dealerships are forecast to sell about 30,000 vehicles per year.

Brown, the owner of Henry Brown Buick Pontiac GMC in Mesa, AZ, formerly owned Brown & Brown Chevrolet in Mesa. From 1995-1998, it was the No.1 retail Chevrolet dealer in the country.

After selling to Auto Nation in 1997 and upon expiration of a non-compete clause, Brown is now back in the business.

He bought Sun Pontiac GMC from Art Piccinati in November, and acquired a Buick franchise from Tony M. Coury.

Brown and his family have sold cars in Arizona since 1925.

“In this business, they don't come any better or any more successful than Henry Brown,” says Jim Mullin, Staubach Automotive Group's development consultant on the Santan project.

The complex is part of a nearly 1,400 mixed-use development that will include homes and health-care facilities