Les Schwab Tire Center

When Les Schwab told me they were entering Minnesota, I already had a very clear sense of the type of real estate that would work well for them. One property in Little Falls stood out immediately. It was a large parcel along a strong retail corridor with excellent traffic and visibility.

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I tracked down the owners and gave them a call. They were a nice older couple who had owned the land for years but didn’t have any plans for it. After a few conversations, we reached an agreement fairly quickly, and everything appeared to be moving in the right direction.

Then we reviewed the ALTA survey and title work.

That is when we discovered a potential problem. The road along the south side of the site, 3rd Avenue, was not actually a public right-of-way. It was an easement. Even more concerning, the neighboring property owner technically had the ability to relocate that easement to another location without our approval. In other words, it was what is known as a floating easement.

For a retailer preparing to build a multi-million dollar store, that creates real risk. Imagine constructing a new facility and then having one of your primary access points moved somewhere else with no control over the outcome.

I approached the neighboring owner and asked whether they would be open to fixing the easement permanently in its current location. Unfortunately, they were not interested in discussing it.

At that point, I was concerned the deal might fall apart.

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Instead of walking away, I called the city engineer and explained the situation. He suggested a smart workaround. We could design the site so that if the easement were ever relocated, the southern edge of our property could accommodate a new access road that we would build ourselves.

Fortunately, the parcel was large enough to allow for that flexibility.

Working with the city, we re-platted the property and dedicated a portion of the land as right of way. That approach protected our long-term access to the site regardless of what happened with the neighboring easement.

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Les Schwab liked the solution and felt comfortable moving forward. The store was built, opened successfully, and today serves the Little Falls community from a great location.

Sometimes getting a deal across the finish line is not about eliminating every risk. It is about finding a creative way to manage it and keep the project moving forward.

J. Clint Jameson, CDP

Managing Partner