Kia Country is building a new auto dealership in Manteca.

Plans for the project just east of the new 112-room 4-story Woodspring Suites on Atherton Drive are now being processed by the Manteca Community Development Department.

It will be the second project to move forward in the eastern portion of Manteca Crossings that straddles Airport Way and is sandwiched between the 120 Bypass and Atherton Drive.

The showroom and the state-of-the-art service center will be designed with electric vehicles in mind.

It will be accessed by the traffic signals just installed at Sparrowhawk and Atherton Drive.

Developers of Manteca Crossing have almost all of its approved parcels on the west side of Airport Way either finished or under construction including the city’s second Food-4-Less store opening later this year.

The only remaining parcel on the west side is the approved 4-story, 117-room Courtyard by Marriott going to the west of Food-4-Less.

A number of other businesses are already open including Crumbl Cookies, Maverik gas and convenience store, Chick-fil-A, Dutch Bros, Mt. MIke’s Pizza, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Pokemoto, and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, among others.

The eastern portion of Manteca Crossing has been approved for a convenience store with 12 fueling pumps directly across Airport Way from Maverik’s .

There are also four approved buildings for restaurants totaling 13,900 square feet as well as 58,000 square feet of retail, with the largest building being 23,000 square feet.

It may be a bit of a challenge for the city to assist the private sector to secure a replacement user for the existing Kia location at Northgate and North Main.

The location is somewhat off the proverbial beaten track when it comes to retail clustering as affirmed by the number of years it took to find a replacement for the Kmart to the west that is now a U-Haul storage center.

That said, it is close to the Lathrop Road and Highway 99 interchange that is expected to slowly emerge as a more robust commercial area in the coming years as Manteca grows northward.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com