Michael Gorman, executive vice president and principal, Metro Commercial Real Estate, at Carvana car vending machine site, Front Street, Philadelphia, PA (Steve Lubetkin Photo/State Broadcast News)
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Online used car retailer Carvana, which pioneered the concept of web-based purchase of autos for direct delivery to buyers' homes, is extending its franchise with a collection of “car vending machines” across the country that provide high visibility for the retailer's business while engaging buyers with a novelty feel for the car delivery experience.
Carvana's first retail location in the Delaware Valley has opened in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, adjacent to I-95 on Front Street, just south of Girard Avenue.
Watch a video news report on the Carvana car vending machine in the player below. If you do not see a player in this space, click here to view the video.
|The leasing team from Metro Commercial Real Estate that helped Carvana arrange the location was led by Michael Gorman, executive vice president and principal, and Stephen Carrozza, vice president.
“The Carvana requirement is such that they wanted to be in an urban environment, where it could be seen from the highway, and also be safe and access be easy,” says Gorman. “Carvana was able to work with the neighborhood and make them feel comfortable with what they were doing. Carvana was building these vending machines in other parts of the country, so they could point to these other vending machines,” as examples of how the finished project would look.
Customers who visit Carvana.com can shop more than 10,000 vehicles, finance, purchase, and sell their current vehicle to Carvana in as little as 10 minutes.
Philadelphia's Carvana car vending machine is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., free for all Carvana customers.
“There's sort of a ceremony involved, you get a token and put it into a slot, and you see your car come down,” says Gorman. “It's a real celebratory atmosphere, which is how it should be. They make it fun to buy a car.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Steve Lubetkin
Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].
