Junge Automotive Group building in North Liberty

Junge Ford of North Liberty expects to move into a new 31,000-square-foot building on March 1 at the southeast corner of the Interstate 380 interchange.

Jason Junge, owner of Junge Automotive Group, on Tuesday said the full-service dealership at 525 N. Madison St. will replace a temporary location at 2905 W. Penn St.

Junge said the dealership will employ about 45 people, roughly the same as the company's other locations in Hiawatha and Center Point.

Junge's father, Gary Junge, bought the North Liberty Ford dealership in Oxford from Mary Ann Carter.

'That had North Liberty as part of its area of operation,” Junge said. 'We wanted to go where the people are.”

Jason Junge said decision to move the dealership to North Liberty was made about a year ago.

'It just takes time to get all the pieces of the puzzle in place, but we are getting there,” he said.

The Watts Group of Iowa City and North Liberty is the general contractor for the building. Knapp Warden of Cedar Rapids is the project architect.