J.C. Lewis Ford in Hinesville will begin construction on a new car dealership building at its current location on Highway 84 near downtown.
Walter Lewis, president of J.C. Lewis Ford, local officials and managers of the car dealership broke ground Tuesday at the site. The new building will feature tall windows for the showroom, aluminum siding, landscaping in the parking lot and the Ford logo.
Lewis thanked the city of Hinesville for giving them a warm welcome, after purchasing Hinesville Ford from the Mingledorf family in October, 2016.
“When we made the decision to buy this property from the Mingledorfs we planned to remodel the current facility and we had the plans drawn up,” Lewis said. “We looked at it, critiqued it and we came to the 

conclusion that it wasn’t worth remodeling. We needed to start over.”
The old building will be torn down and the new dealership is tentatively scheduled for completion by the spring.
Lewis hopes to create more jobs and hire more locals.
Hinesville Ford has been in Hinesville since 1938 and was purchased by Fred Mingledorf Sr. in 1935.
“The Martin family had started the Ford business in 1914. We were distant relatives and my grandfather purchased it in 1935,” Fred Mingledorf III said.
His father, Fred Mingledorf Jr., ran the business from 1958 until he took over in 1994.
Mingledorf is working with J.C. Lewis Ford during the transition process. He thinks the new building will be great for Hinesville and Liberty County.
“I think it’s going to do great things for the community here and Fort Stewart,” Mingledorf said. “The Lewis family brings a great tradition here from Savannah and they already have two other dealerships. I think they’ll make things happen in Hinesville.”
J.C. Lewis Ford is located at 305 W Oglethorpe Hwy.