David Voelker, the president of Don Allen Auto City on Baum Boulevard in Shadyside, told his employees yesterday that the family was selling the business.

There were actually two announcements, said Jeff Worden, a spokesman for the company: "one is the sale of the dealership and the other is the sale of the property that the dealership sits on."

Mr. Worden would not say who was buying either the business or the property. UPMC has been buying land in that area, which is just a few blocks from Shadyside Hospital, but a spokeswoman for the 44,000-person hospital network said yesterday that UPMC was not the buyer.

Don Allen owns seven acres of land in the area that are used for the showroom, the garages and lots to store cars. Those lots, however, are broken up by roads in between them. The main showroom sits at Baum Boulevard and Liberty Avenue.

Mr. Worden said the sale of Don Allen was announced yesterday to give employees enough warning to find new jobs.

"They want to do what they can do to ease the transition of the employees," he said.

Mr. Voelker's family is in the second generation of ownership and had owned that dealership for 50 years. Don Allen sells cars made by Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Pontiac and Mazda.

Mr. Worden said the dealership would not be sold for about four to six weeks, which means that all repairs will be completed and that all cars that are currently on order will be delivered at their negotiated price. Manufacturer and third-party warranties will not be affected by the sale of the dealership.

According to a news release, a liquidation sale will begin next week.

In the release Mr. Voelker said, "Today, the majority of car sales occur in suburban locations situated on or near major roadways, offering the convenience of being able to shop at multiple dealerships ... which puts us at a significant disadvantage."