New Jersey Auto Restorer Hopes to Build in Lower Nazareth

Lower Nazareth Township may be the home of an antique car restoration business.

Ray’s Auto Restoration, which is currently located in New Jersey, was one of two land development plans reviewed by the township's Planning Commission Monday night.

However, the commission tabled approval of the restoration company until its May 16 meeting due to a debate on parking and whether the business should be classified as industrial, light industrial or something completely different.

Five acres on Country Club Road have been chosen as the location for the business, according to Mark Bahnick, branch manager for Van Cleef Engineering in Bethlehem. In addition to the main building, a garage and storage building are also planned for the parcel, he said.

Commission members were concerned that the business isn't proposing enough parking spaces.

Ray Mamone, whose father started the high-end restoration company 53 years ago, explained that his primary customer base is people who own antique vehicles and want them restored.

The vehicles are either driven in or brought in on flatbed trucks, according to Mamone, who now owns the business.  And since each restoration can take quite some time to complete, a large quantity of customers are not coming and going on a daily basis.

Mamone added that he employs only 10 people.

Because the business does not require as many parking spaces as most companies, classifying the restoration business for parking needs is difficult, according to Lori Seese, the township's planning and zoning administrator.

Seese told Mamone and his representatives that she must follow the rules set in place by the township. Currently, Seese added, the parking requirements are based on the needs of an industrial use company, but said the business may qualify instead for a light-industrial classification.

“The township has never addressed a business like this,” said commissioner Hugh Harris, adding that he thinks the township should be flexible.

Mamone said the main building will be about 31,000 square feet and will include paint spray booths, an office area, restoration work areas and a showroom for his car collection. The purpose of the showroom is to give customers an example of the business' work.

The showroom will display each car in chronological order -- each staged against a constructed backdrop of the time period the car was built, Mamone said. In essence, he’s creating kind of a museum, freezing cars in the time they were constructed.

“This is something I’ve dreamed of doing... you take antique cars and bring them back to life,” Mamone said.

According to Mamone, he chose to build in Pennsylvania due to the combination of economic growth along Route 33 and because he found a property large enough to build on.

Mamone expects the cost of the three buildings to be between $3 million and $4 million.  J.G. Petrucci Co. in Clinton, N.J., has been hired to do the construction, and the architectural design was done by Yarrington Architectural Group in Bridgewater, N.J.

Mamone expects the Lower Nazareth business -- if approved -- to take about two years to complete.

In other business, commission members granted preliminary approval for an  located near the Nazareth Sewer Authority on Tatamy Road.