Frank Kent Motor Co. to auction some of its auto history

Fort Worth’s Frank Kent Motor Co. will auction off some of its 80-year-old auto history in an online event in August.

The company was founded in 1935 and is still one of the oldest family-owned dealerships in the state. The owners, Will Churchill and Corrie Watson, are great-grandchildren of Frank Kent.

The online auction Aug. 18 will feature more than $1 million worth of historic pieces from the dealership. Rosen Systems is conducting the auction. The auction will include cars, automotive accessories, Frank Kent’s famous firetruck, workbenches and furniture.

Online viewing begins Aug. 8.

The auction comes on the heels of Frank Kent Motor Co. selling its Honda dealership in Fort Worth to Berkshire Hathaway. The company still owns Hyundai and Fisker dealerships, and the largest Cadillac dealership in the Southwest.

Next month, Frank Kent Motor Co. will also move its office operations to 215 S. Main St., which has been renamed Frank Kent Building. Churchill and Watson bought the property earlier this year and the adjoining building at 219 S. Main St.

The two have been buying several properties on the near south side, including the buildings at 1117 and 1119 W. Magnolia Ave., which will be transformed into two urban lofts. The Kent & Co. Lofts will be 900 square-feet each with two bedrooms and one bathroom. They will rent for $2,000 a month beginning in September.

The Lofts are located a block from Churchill and Watson’s Kent & Co. Wines, which opened in 2014.

“Magnolia Avenue and the Near Southside are great areas to live, work and play,” Churchill said in a statement. “We’re proud to be a part of this community and are excited to see its ongoing growth. Kent & Co. Lofts and our new family office are just two of the projects we hope add value to the area.”

Frank Kent Motor Co. will open a special events venue called The Space at 1309 S. Adams St. in mid-October. The Space will serve as a setting for Kent & Co. Wines to host wine education classes and will be available for rent for special events, wedding receptions and private parties for up to 150 people.

Churchill and Watson are also under contract to sell the Frank Kent Cadillac site on Lancaster Avenue to a Dallas-based developer that is planning a $26.6 million, 200-unit apartment project called Cadillac Lofts.

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Frank Kent Motor Co. to auction some of its auto history."