New Convenience Store

[Johnny]

does $500k seem like an extraordinary amount of money, or is it just me?

I posted a couple of pages ago about this. At one time I was considering opening an automatic car wash. The equipment costs alone for a touchless system is roughly $500k, depending on the company you choose and any additions to the setup. A water recycler will add additional cash, chemicals will cost near a fortune. As I said then, I would expect this guy to be adamant about not having loiterers. This will not help him recoup money and it's not cheap....

Fred Deluca started Subway with $1000.00 from a family friend.  So some would say that $500k is quite a chunk of change.

Subway is making sandwiches, doesn't require a whole lot of machinery.

[Springfield Girl]

That's a whole lot of carwashes, towels and air fresheners that would have to be sold to recoup the start up cost let alone the additional monthly overhead. It sounds crazy to me to make that kind of investment in a down economy. I drive a BMW and I haven't taken it to a carwash in a year. That was one of the first things to go when the budget tightened. So whose going to purchase all those carwashes and air fresheners off the main drag in Springfield?

[danno]

I guess my point was to Stephen being so "maddened by these conversations".  There are times that you don't need that much to start something out.  500k seems like an awful big investment to put into a carwash in Springfield.

So now everyone can plie on with the what you don't want that kind of investment stuff.

It just seems like a lot of money thats all.

[jason_contentdg]

It's a ton to invest in this economy.  I would think fewer people would even be going to car washes and doing it themselves at home for now.

[Johnny]

It is indeed a lot of money. If it was me, I would be looking at used equipment in this economy as some great deals are out there to be had. That being said, traffic count is what matters. I believe that part of Main St. exceeds recommended requirements to be successful.

My question still remains on hours of operation. If this is an automatic bay, he will need or at least want to be 24/7/365 to really hit the profit margin he should be looking for. If it is operational at night, being close to residential, I am not sure how he will get the approval for zoning. These washes may not sound too loud when you are in your car, but living next to one, I imagine, would be quite disappointing.

[thelakelander]

Here's my take.  Its his money.  If he feels its worth the investment, who are we to decide its too much.  If he loses his shirt, so be it.  If he rakes in a ton on money, so be it.  The bottom line is a vacant property renovated and put back into use, is better than a vacant property continuing to blight the neighborhood for years to come.

[cindi]

especially since it is on his "temporary" plan.

[thelakelander]

Again.....temporary in terms of real estate could equate to over 10-15 years.  Main Street isn't going to turn around overnight and with a real streetcar or something to stimulate infill development, it will take that long for it to really fill in with new construction.

[Johnny]

I agree Lake,  I do not see this business as a negative (except maybe for those that live right next door). As I've repeated a couple of times, there is no way in hell that he is spending even half of the figures that it will require and allow loiterers and litter to kill his business. Those that stand around are not typically going to support his car wash (the bread and butter) as would those in front of the convenience store that sells cheap beer.

[nvrenuf]

Lake, it was Silas who stated 5-6 years based on what Hionides told him. Obviously only time and the economy will tell which is accurate.

[jason_contentdg]

Here's my take.  Its his money.  If he feels its worth the investment, who are we to decide its too much.  If he loses his shirt, so be it.  If he rakes in a ton on money, so be it.  The bottom line is a vacant property renovated and put back into use, is better than a vacant property continuing to blight the neighborhood for years to come.

Absolutely and should go without saying...

[Dan B]

Since Matt is still working on a follow up, I will go ahead and talk about what we talked about when Matt and I stopped by.

After getting a full tour of the facility, and listening to what he is planning, I think its a good plan, and hope he is able to execute the way he talks. Its clear he has a passion.

He is taking down all of the fencing along the roads, and will be putting up a 6, or 8 foot privacy fence along the ally to help the neighbors (which ever one is allowed).

The equipment has been on site for more than two years. After his last attempt to open, he got so mad, he decided to sell the place to Petra Mgmt. In short, there were a couple of immediate neighbors who raised holy hell with SPAR, Code, and Neighborhoods dept to keep the thing from opening. According to Silas, it was done without knowing what the plan was. Once he sold the property to Petra, the owner, Chris Hionides let him keep the equipment on site, which he searched for a new property to move it to. He in the last few months decided to NOT move the equipment, but rather, to try for the exception.

He originally purchased the property in 1995, from the family that ran the original car wash on site. He then went and got a zoning exception. He started putting together the plan for the car wash, and started putting the money together from that point until the mid 2000s, when he has assembled everything he needed to open. When he was about to open, he realized that the zoning change he had applied for in 1995 was only good for a year from the date he applied for it, and since he never opened, the property reverted back to ccg-1, and then ccg-S, when the overlay passed.

Anyway, He has all the pieces in place, and I believe that $500K figure what what he has spent over the last 10 years putting this equipment together.

The water will be reclaimed. He said that about 95% of the water is reclaimed and reprocessed in an underground tank (which he showed us)

His hours of operation will be regular business houses, closing at about 6pm.

He is a member of the National Car Wash council, and has "tons of catalogs" from which to chose the items that will be in his store, on top of snack items for the people getting a car wash. He said there will be NO beer, wine, cigarettes, or lottery tickets. He said calling it a "convenience" store really isn't accurate, but it will do for the zoning change request.

There will be vacuum stations on the outside of the building, but they will be on the Main Street side. They all come from one system (overhead hoses) and customers will be able to vacuum for free, with a car wash.

He is currently cleaning up the old car lot next door. He says he has permission from Petra to use it as well. One of the few suggestions I made was, Why not use the Main Street Entrance as your main entrance, with signage. This will give him a better chance for drive by traffic, and make the place feel more a part of Main. Also, it might help cut down on some of the traffic on the primarily residential 4th St. He liked the idea, and may implement it.

He says should he get the exception, he will probably open around the first of the year.

His prices are going to be 5, 7, and 9-10 dollars for the various levels of service.

One interesting note, I asked if he thought his business would negatively impact the other car wash on Main. He said from his point of view, the other business is running things illegally, since they don't use reclaimed water. he said its against the law to put harsh detergents directly into the drainage system, like other business is currently doing.

[cindi]

awesome.  thanks for that info.  he sounds like he has his stuff together.  the no beer, etc will cut down on his litter a whole lot.

[ChriswUfGator]

In short, there were a couple of immediate neighbors who raised holy hell with SPAR, Code, and Neighborhoods dept to keep the thing from opening. According to Silas, it was done without knowing what the plan was.

Typical...

[Dan B]

The primary complainers are now gone from the neighborhood.