Lexus dealership planned for Tallahassee will be city's first

A new Lexus dealership is slated for Tallahassee, marking another luxury automotive brand poised to enter the market.

Located at 3800-1 W. Tennessee Street, the new dealership will be located on the same property as the Peter Boulware Toyota dealership. Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Toyota, the Japanese automaker, and was established in 1989.

The brand produces a range of high-end cars known for their poshness, but also performance and reliability, according to auto industry analysts.

Early permit materials describe the project as a "two-story building with the first floor around 31,260 square feet and the second floor around 12,102 square feet (totaling 43,362 square feet). The building will include a sales/showroom area, service, and parts."

Owner Peter Boulware said he purchased the 25-acre property years ago with the intent to expand at the right time, adding that the new Lexus dealership won't be much larger than his existing Toyota dealership.

Lexus joins other luxury car brands in capital

More luxury car brands are planting roots in Tallahassee.

This spring, Capital Eurocars debuted a new Porsche dealership and has a combined Volvo and Volkswagen dealership under construction. The company also unveiled a BMW/Jaguar/Land Rover dealership location debuted at 1485 Capital Circle N.W. in May 2023.

For Lexus, Boulware said now was the right time for a dedicated dealership because there's an increase in demand from customers who would prefer not to travel outside of Tallahassee to purchase a vehicle or get their vehicles serviced in cities like Jacksonville, roughly two and half hours away.

"The Lexus brand is not going to be the volume type of store that we have with Toyota," Boulware said. "We're just super excited about being able to bring a luxury product to the Tallahassee area."

Pending permit approval and construction work, Boulware said he's hoping the new dealership will be open and operational by late 2025 or early 2026.

"We have a lot of customers that drive Lexus in this market but aren't represented by the franchise," Boulware said. "So just getting the opportunity to be able to represent the franchise and to be able to serve those customers, I can't tell you how many customers that are Lexus customers who are breathing a sigh of relief."

Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lexus dealership planned for Tallahassee will be city's first