ARLINGTON — When Dwayne Lane’s Arlington Chevrolet closed after more than 15 years in business, it appeared to be yet another casualty of tough economic times nationwide.

More than a year after Dwayne Lane’s Family of Auto Dealerships moved its remaining Arlington inventory to the freshly minted Dwayne Lane’s Quality Used Cars, the family-owned dealership has announced that it will be reopening its Arlington Chevrolet dealership, this time on Highway 9 at the former site of Oso Lumber.

“With the economic meltdown, we entered into GMC’s crosshairs,” said Tom Lane, president of Dwayne Lane’s Family of Auto Dealerships. “The restructuring was a decision we came to regret.”

Lane expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to return to the community, especially in a new location with much more space.

“We had about 6,000-square-feet at our former location in Arlington,” Lane said at the Oso Lumber site. “Here, we’ll have about 25,000-square-feet to play around with. That’s going from a little more than an acre to five acres.”

With this increase in space comes an expansion in service, as Dwayne Lane’s Arlington Chevrolet will now service all makes and models of vehicles, imported and domestic, rather than just GMC. He emphasized that the service department will be staffed with ASE-certified technicians, to give customers confidence that their vehicles will be serviced by the most technologically current diagnostic and repair tools.

“We have the tools, the parts and the knowledge, so why can’t we tune up a Honda or a Ford?” said Lane, who added that the service department will also include a quick lube service to make it more convenient for residents in the Arlington area to get routine maintenance done. “We’re here to fill a need. I felt bad after we shut down in Arlington because our customers had to drive a lot further. This should be much more convenient for them.”

Lane also looks forward to taking advantage of the site’s capacity to display an extensive inventory of new and used vehicles, in addition to his goal of making the Arlington Chevrolet dealership the largest service facility in the area.

“We’ll probably open around the start of the year with about 100 cars, but we should be able to grow that quickly into 200 cars within the next year,” said Lane, who will be starting with a staff of 15 and hopes to increase that number to 30, roughly the staffing that the Arlington Chevrolet had employed before. “There’ll be a couple of familiar faces, but we’re looking to add to our crew too.”

Lane encouraged those interested in applying for a job at Dwayne Lane’s Arlington Chevrolet to log onto www.dwaynelane.com.

“I’m so encouraged by the response we’ve already received from the city and our customers,” said Lane, who’s planning a grand reopening celebration for January.

“It was difficult for the city to lose the revenue and employment base that Dwayne Lane’s Arlington Chevrolet generated over the years,” Arlington Mayor Margaret Larson said. “We welcome them back with open arms.”