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Pleasure Pools buys part of former Buysse site

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By Doug Schorpp | Thursday, May 22, 2008 |

Jim Wahl hopes this will be the last move for his family’s business.

Pleasure Pools & Spas has purchased a portion of the former Buysse Dodge dealership property at 4114 Brady St., Davenport. The dealership closed in September 2006 when it was purchased by Kimberly Car City.

Wahl said Pleasure Pools purchased the northern-most portion of the property, about 2 to 2.5 acres. The site includes a house that will be demolished. A portion of the existing parking lot also will be removed and a new building will be constructed.

“We expect to start construction this summer and hopefully, we will be moving in there after Feb. 1, probably mid-January to the first of February,” he said.

He hopes the company can break ground by late June or early July.

He said the other portion of the property — located south of Wahl’s new property, north of Kimberly Road and including the former Buysse showroom and offices — is being marketing separately.

Andy Doyle of NAI Ruhl & Ruhl, who is co-listing the property with Ted Rebitzer, said closing on that property is expected to take place later this week. He declined Monday to name the buyer.

Pleasure Pools currently operates at 5401 N. Brady St., Davenport. It was founded 30 years ago by Tom and Mary Lou Wahl and operated out of their garage. Jim and Brian Wahl, their two sons, own the business with their parents.

Jim Wahl said the business moved from the family garage to a location along Hickory Grove Road about a year later. It has been at its current location for about 11 years. About three years ago, the Wahls took over the former Honda motorcycle shop building next door and expanded their inventory of patio furniture, billiard tables, bars, bar stools and patio furniture.

The company sells and installs spas, in-ground pools and above-ground pools, in addition to tanning beds, saunas and foosball and air hockey tables. It also carries a full line of accessories for all products.

“We need new space,” Jim Wahl said. “The patio is what grew us, and you need space to display it.”

Currently, inventory is divided between the two buildings and sales staff and customers have to walk across the parking lot to get from one building to the next. With the new facility, “we get everything under one roof,” he said.

Current square footage for the business is 10,000 square feet. He said the new building should be about 21,000 square feet.

Doug Schorpp can be contacted at (563) 383-2292 or dschorpp@qctimes.com.