Owners, Developers of Car Care Centers Form Trade Association

There’s a trade association for Realtors. One for builders. And another for developers. There’s even an association for trade associations. So why not one for people who develop and own car care centers, thought Taylor B. Grant.

Car care centers--for the uninitiated--are strip shopping centers that cater to motorists with repair shops, auto parts stores and the like.

Grant, a Newport Beach developer, is sometimes credited with developing the first such center in the early 1980s in Huntington Beach. That one started as an ordinary industrial development, but so many automotive companies wanted in that Grant says he hit upon the idea of developing centers from scratch. Now the centers are all the rage with some developers, who have put them up all over the Southwest.

So Grant started the Council of Car Care Centers, which he first ran out of his office but has now turned over to a retired tire store executive in Arizona who acts as part-time executive director.

Matters that the association deals with aren’t exactly burning issues, Grant admits. They tend to center on things like educating members about local regulations on the storage of used oil and other nuts-and-bolts issues.

“Most of it’s pretty basic stuff,” says Grant.

The association already has enlisted 25 members, Grant says, about half developers and the other half tenants.

Credit car-crazy Southern California as the mother of this invention, a place where motorists can get their cars lubed and tuned up, buy new tires or a pair of fuzzy dice for the rear-view mirror and--in some of the newer centers--also get fast food, rent a video or buy a quart of milk while they’re waiting for their cars.

Grant, 39, whose American Commerce Centers has developed 10 of the little centers, likes to add other types of retailers in order to broaden his market for tenants and add to the allure of the centers.

What’s behind the rapid growth of these centers, which by some estimates could number as many as 500 nationwide? Several factors, it turns out.

Cars are becoming so sophisticated that they’re rapidly making the neighborhood gas station mechanic obsolete, and that makes specialized repair services more appealing. At the same time, the neighborhood mechanic is becoming an endangered species as the corner station leans more and more toward self-service.

For the consumer, having all those services and products in one location simply makes things more convenient, too.

Most of the best corners have already been monopolized by McDonald’s, gas stations and convenience stores, so it’s often tough for even big companies like Firestone to find a good place to locate its tire stores.

And finally, some cities are insisting that these kinds of businesses band together in architecturally appealing buildings.

“We don’t get to build willy-nilly anywhere we want anymore,” said Grant. “With communities getting more sensitive about architecture, a lot of cities don’t want free-standing automotive stores anymore. The car care centers are a benefit to automotive companies because, in some cases, they’re the only way they can get a facility in some cities anymore.”

That is the case with car care centers Grant is developing in two cities, Upland and Mission Viejo, the developer says.

While the centers are primarily a Sunbelt phenomena, they are starting to spread to the Midwest and the Northeast, Grant rays.

Grant is the first president of the Council of Car Care Centers, and is trying to recruit into the group owners of centers, real estate lawyers, tenants, lenders and consultants.

The cost: $475 a year for a big nationwide retailer or a developer, $200 for a regional retailer with fewer than five stores and other small businesses.

“Most of the big chains (of tune-up places, muffler shops and the like) are looking hard for places to put stores,” said Grant. “These centers give them another good choice.”