Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Chicago sales and service center

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

doug

Administrator / Head Moderator
Administrator
Tesla to Open Midwest Regional Sales & Service Center in Chicago | SYS-CON AUSTRALIA

Tesla Motors Inc. is opening a Midwest regional sales and service center in Chicago, the first of seven retail facilities the electric vehicle manufacturer plans to launch this year.

The Chicago store -- which will open this spring -- is at 1053 W. Grand Ave., near the Kennedy Expressway in the River West neighborhood. The site is visible from the Ohio Street off-ramp and offers convenient access from the suburbs and further afield. The location gives prospective customers the opportunity to experience Tesla’s best-in-class performance under a range of driving conditions, including highways and urban streets.

Google map


Looks like it used to be a GE building.
 
It's a good location for accessibility and to get a decent amount of space for a reasonable price. No foot traffic or "high profile". It does happen to be about 3/4 of a mile from my office. I'll be sure to post some pics once they really get to work on the space, as I drive by it every day.
 
xy_735801B4-0B07-4B5A-AD91-AD28DE9DE6FE__.jpg

xy_F68C75BA-A1D9-4CE9-A4B0-A0BF0B6BC25E__.jpg

xy_91CD1780-A180-48C8-B956-1030A0FF7958__.jpg


Property Description:
* 10,000 Sqft 1 story building with high barrel ceilings
* 1,000-10,000 Sqft avaliable and can be subdivided
* 86' of frontange on grand ave facing the 94 Hwy
* Additional parking lot avaliable for up to 30 cars on site parking
* Billboard signage facing hwy avaliable as well
* Traffic count visiable to this location is over $250,000 cars per day
* Space is wide open with 15-16' ceilings & building is rectangle shape and easy to subdivde.
* Many possible uses: Restaurant, Night Club, Mortgage Company, Real Estate, Offices, Retail, Garage, Lab, Medical office and more

Location Description:
* 86' of frontange on grand ave facing the 94 Hwy
* Billboard signage facing hwy avaliable as well
* Traffic count visiable to this location is over $250,000 cars per day

Lot Size:17,000 SF

2/1/2008
Looks like a building with potential that could be nicely converted. I wonder what the budget is.
That four story structure it's connected to appears to be primarily an apartment building, with a first story storefront occupied by Mark's Pest Control. Is that huge billboard still going to be there when Tesla moves in? Not quite as nice of a vibe as being next to a Starbucks under a big iPod ad.

As an aside, it's interesting how the person who did this listing consistently misspells the words frontage, visible, and available.
"Traffic count visiable to this location is over $250,000 cars per day"
Is that a typo, or do you really measure traffic count in dollar cars per day?
 
Looks to me like it should be visible from the interstate. They busy, busy interstate. I've driven I-94 during rush; now I take the train whenever I go downtown on weekdays. Tesla would be wise to put up a big (tasteful) billboard because there's a lot of money on that road refusing to take public transportation.

It looks like a brisk walk up Clinton, Kinzie, Milwaukee, and Grand from the train station. But I'm not too sure of the neighborhoods. Maybe after they get established and my wife and I are downtown for a show or festival, we'll buzz over there.
 
* Traffic count visiable to this location is over $250,000 cars per day

Is that only cars that are over $250k can see the sign or does the sign shut down after $250K worth of cars drive by?


I was told by the way that the LA store was offered the 'Apple" billboard.
 
Well based on what mt2 had to say, visible to 250 thousand cars a day sounds reasonable.
It will be interesting to see if/how they maintain the same design themes.

2922615706_93364b5975_m.jpg

Jalopnik is being cynical, as has been their pattern in recent months:
Tesla: Tesla To Open Chicago Dealership
Presumably targeting the wealthy wives of disgraced hair-centric former governors with difficult-to-pronounce names, Tesla's third dealership will open in Chicago this Spring...
 
Last edited:
Chicago blogs comment on the location:

Tesla to Open Chicago Dealership This Spring - KickingTires
Chicago seems like an ideal place for the sedan to take off, as we see countless high-end sedans commuting into the city, where Cars.com is based.

However, speaking as locals, we’re curious as to why Tesla chose the River West neighborhood to open its shop. While the location at 1053 W. Grand is large enough for the company’s needs, it’s not a part of the street that gets walk-by traffic, nor is there plentiful parking anywhere nearby.

In fact, driving that stretch of Grand heading toward downtown you wouldn’t even notice this building. The only benefit would be that perhaps people passing by on the Kennedy Expressway — especially the Ohio offramp which heads straight downtown — would see a billboard or signage and have their interest piqued.

A location in the trendier West Loop, with its many restaurants and shops, would have seemed like a more natural fit to us.


Tesla Motors Announces Chicago Showroom - Chicagoist: Chicago News, Food, Arts & Events
While Cars.com's Kicking Tires blog questions the locale, we think it makes sense. We're going to assume that Tesla's not going to have the dealer network of Honda or even BMW anytime soon. With one location for all of Chicago (and the Midwest), the Grand Ave. location does offer "convenient access from the suburbs and further afield" while at the same time remaining close to the toniest parts of downtown.

Even after Tesla introduces their lower priced sedan next year (MSRP around $60k) these are not exactly impulse purchases that require high levels of showroom foot traffic. And given that these cars aren't the type of thing you want the neighborhood mechanic fixing, the address should minimize time spent traveling to the dealer for service, whether coming from from Oak Park, Highland Park or Lincoln Park.
 
Can anyone comment as to whether Tesla sent specific invites to a grand opening event for the LA and other store(s) to those who had made deposits for the Roadster?

Just wondering if you think they'll have a premier type event at the Chicago store for those of us from the midwest who've made a deposit. Thoughts?
 
Can anyone comment as to whether Tesla sent specific invites to a grand opening event for the LA and other store(s) to those who had made deposits for the Roadster?

Just wondering if you think they'll have a premier type event at the Chicago store for those of us from the midwest who've made a deposit. Thoughts?

In the past, Telsa has invited everyone that had a Roadster on order to both store openings. I skipped the LA opening, but attended the Menlo Park one. I expect that they'll continue that tradition, including also people that ordered the Model S. They will request a RSVP, to know how many attendees to plan for.

Since my hometown is Champaign, I may just use this event as an excuse to come back and visit the relatives.
 
Last edited:
In the past, Telsa has invited everyone that had a Roadster on order to both store openings. I skipped the LA opening, but attended the Menlo Park one. I expect that they'll continue that tradition, including also people that ordered the Model S. They will request a RSVP, to know how many attendees to plan for.

Since my hometown is Champaign, I may just use this event as an excuse to come back and visit the relatives.

It's a little bit of a trip for me, but an excuse to go to Chicago is a good thing, and I have family in the burbs so I'd have free lodging. Hopefully they do have a nice big opening.