Baker City residents will soon be able to shop for a new Ford vehicle without leaving the city limits.

And the showroom will be in the same place that it was for many decades.

Legacy Ford of La Grande will open a satellite dealership in the former Phillips-Long Ford building on the east side of Main Street between Madison and Baker streets.

A “soft opening” is planned for April 21, with a grand opening later in the spring, said Chris Huxoll, general manager of Legacy Ford.

Huxoll said the Baker City dealership will have both new and used vehicles.

Initially there will be sales only, but he said Legacy Ford could add a service department in the future.

To start, customers who need service at the La Grande dealership can have their vehicles picked up at the Baker City location and taken to La Grande for service, Huxoll said.

Baker City hasn’t had a Ford dealership for several years.

Phillips-Long Ford was sold to Gentry Ford in 2002, which operated a dealership for more than a decade.

Huxoll said Legacy Ford owner Greg Colozzi was the “driving force” behind the upcoming Baker City dealership and one that Legacy opened in September 2024 in Pendleton, also at a former Ford showroom.

One key difference, Huxoll said, is that because Pendleton is not in Legacy’s primary market, as set by Ford, the dealership there sells only used vehicles.

Baker City, by contrast, is within Legacy’s primary market, so the showroom here will include new models.

Huxoll said Legacy is leasing the Baker City building.

It’s a one-year lease, said Tyler Brown, one of the building owners along with his wife, Corrina Brown, and another local couple, Mike and Kim Ogan.

“We’re stoked to be able to help bring Ford back to Baker City with Legacy Ford,” Brown said. “They are going to be a great business addition and are a well-respected employer.”

A Ford dealership operated in the Main Street building for several decades.

Don Phillips, a Baker City native who died in 2020, sold Fords for Clark Motors starting in 1948. He later bought the business, which became Phillips-Long Ford and operated until 2002.