Business news

Taser to provide stun guns to military

Bonsai Bistro to open in Coeur d’Alene

Martha Stewart lawyers ask for new trial

Jurors still deliberating Adelphia case

Dave Smith Motors building large Kellogg lot

Dave Smith Motors is building a 6 1/2 -acre sales lot on the western edge of Kellogg that will hold hundreds of cars and trucks. The lot is located on commercial land on either side of Wildcat Way. The dealership has a permit to pave the area and install lighting and landscaping, said Walter Hadley, Kellogg city planner. Dave Smith Motors sold nearly $300 million worth of automobiles last year to customers in regions as far-flung as Alaska and Hawaii. With 280 employees, the dealership is the largest private company in Kellogg, a former mining town increasingly dependent on tourism jobs. Company President Ken Smith could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In a February interview, however, Smith said the dealership has about $40 million worth of inventory on hand at any given time. The cars and trucks are scattered around Kellogg in 10 different lots covering 21 acres. Eight employees are needed to manage the lots and find vehicles for salespeople. Hadley said he did not know if Smith plans to consolidate car lots. A consolidation could open up downtown lots for redevelopment in Kellogg, where real estate is selling briskly. A condo project at Silver Mountain has helped revived interest in vacation homes and commercial property in the area.