Les Schwab Tire Center

I knew Les Schwab needed a location in Spearfish, South Dakota, and I already had a solid understanding of the market from a prior attempt to land a Starbucks deal there. That familiarity paid off.​ There’s a dominant retail corridor in Spearfish anchored by Walmart and positioned along the highway. I identified a large tract adjacent to both that immediately stood out as the right location.

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But like most good opportunities, there was a catch. It wasn’t for sale. And it wasn’t even subdivided. It was one large parcel. So the question wasn’t just “Can I buy it?” It was “Can I carve out exactly what I need and make it work?”

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I tracked down the owner and gave her a call. She had inherited the property and was incredibly kind and easy to work with. She was open to selling, but her preference was to sell the entire parcel. That wasn’t going to work for my use.

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I explained how I was looking at the site. The frontage had strong retail potential, but the back portion felt like a completely different product type, something better suited for self-storage, hotel, or even multifamily. Mixing those uses under one buyer typically doesn’t pencil.

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I told her I only needed about two acres. We worked through it quickly and came to terms on just the portion I needed.

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Once we opened escrow, the real work started.

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As we dug into the title and site conditions, we uncovered a key issue. In order to make the site function properly, we needed to drain into Walmart’s retention basin.

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That’s not always a simple ask. While no formal use restrictions were blocking our project, getting cooperation from an adjacent national retailer, especially one that could view your tenant as competition, can be a challenge.

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Fortunately, in this case, they were willing to work with us. We were able to secure a waiver, which satisfied Les Schwab’s legal requirements without having to go through the time and complexity of a full CCR amendment. That was a big unlock for the deal.

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At the same time, we uncovered additional site work and costs that were more significant than originally anticipated. To keep the deal viable, I went back to the seller and walked through the updated realities.

She was great. We were able to adjust pricing to account for those costs and keep everything moving forward.

From there, the project progressed smoothly.

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Les Schwab opened without issue, and what started as a single, undivided parcel became a successful site in one of the strongest retail corridors in the market.

J. Clint Jameson, CDP

Managing Partner