BOARDMAN — When Rob Cochran was exploring options to grow his group of automobile dealerships beyond western Pennsylvania, the greater Boardman / Youngstown market made most sense, he said, because it offers the most upside.

His #1 Cochran brand is already somewhat known in the region, which is geographically similar to communities just 60 or so minutes west across the state line; and he said he’s excited about the sorts of investment and economic development happening in the Mahoning Valley.

“To us, it’s just a gentle expansion of our target market geographically, as well as from our brand standpoint,” Cochran said. “We know there is some awareness of our brand here, it’s not the awareness we have back in western Pennsylvania, but there is some awareness. We just need to build upon that. We don’t need to recreate it, we just need to build upon it.”

On Friday, #1 Cochran completed its acquisition of the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC dealerships in Boardman, taking the keys from the more than 100-year-old family-run business.

But don’t expect much, if any, real change right away outside of the rebrand to #1 Cochran Chevrolet and #1 Cochran Buick GMC.

“These are highly performing, well-operated stores, so initially part of our comfort is we don’t need to come in and do much,” Cochran said. “We’re going to come in and observe and learn from the team members here that know the market, that know the customers and also know where maybe the best opportunities are.”

The deal, announced in December, is Cochran’s first acquisition outside of Pennsylvania. It includes the two Market Street stores with the GM Performance Parts and Accessories operation.

Nearly all of Sweeney’s 200 employees are staying with the company, bringing its total to more than 1,500 across 32 new vehicle franchises and other auto-related affiliates, including wholesale parts distribution and collision centers.

“Sweeney Automotive is an iconic and tremendously successful business whose legacy will forever be connected to the Mahoning Valley,” Cochran said. “We are honored to follow in their path and write the next chapter of GM history in the Youngstown market.”

“Bittersweet” is how Alexa Sweeney Blackann, president of the former Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC stores, described the moment Friday.

“The people that are in this business are just wonderful. Some of them have been with us 20, 30, 40 years. You get to know the families, you get to know the customers and their families. It’s a small town, you really become part of the fabric of the community,” Blackann, former president of Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, said. “It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to those things, but there are some really exciting opportunities for the team moving forward.”

The Sweeney dealership can trace its roots back to 1921 with the start of Stearns Motor Company on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, formed by Blackann’s great-uncle. Her great-grandfather later joined the company.

In 1931, the company changed its name to Buick Youngstown and in 1955, Blackann’s great-grandfather opened State Chevrolet, also on Wick Avenue, known as Wick Six for its row of auto dealers. In 1986, Buick Youngstown, then under the guidance of Blackann’s grandfather, moved to Boardman and later added the GMC and Pontiac franchises.

In the 1990s, State Chevrolet moved to Boardman and in 2004, Blackann’s father and uncle, Doug and Dave Sweeney, who were running Youngstown Buick Pontiac GMC, acquired Spartan Chevrolet in Boardman.

A new Chevrolet store was built in 2006. A new Buick GMC store was built after the old one was badly damaged by a tornado.

Blackann said Cochran approached her about 18 months ago to “start a conversation,” but she was hesitant; her father had just retired and she had assumed the role of president. Talks ratcheted up in the past year.

“As we talked and realized how similar we operate, how similar the teams are, it was sort of everything we wanted to do if we were going to grow ourselves, and so it was the right synergy to put together the two teams and really just add to what they are doing,” Blackann said.