One Deal, Two Years

Having been involved in commercial retail real estate for as long as I have, the fact of ‘people you know’ comes into play often. Commercial retail real estate will forever be a ‘Good Ol’ Boy‘ network, so by way of years of relationships, a deal has finally closed.

Let’s take an account of the major action items:

On May 1, 2012, Kroger (aka Fry’s Food) closed on a piece of land that is a stones throw away from an existing grocery store. This was the very first “off-site” location approved in Kroger history, however the time table that the process took, it was not the first to close.

In March of 2012, the town hall of Chandler had to approve the pending sale of the land to Kroger, having the understanding that this land will turn into a 18 pump gas station. Approved by the voters.

In November of 2011, the deal between buyer and seller was finalized, and the commercial real estate transaction was complete. The parcel was split and the easements were created.

In May of 2011, the real estate industry had it’s annual conference in Las Vegas, NV known as ICSC-REcon. This was the place that I was going to throw around the fact that I represented Fry’s in the first “off-site” fuel station, however, the deal was not finished and was in the hands of the town hall.

In January of 2011 I brought the seller an official Letter of Intent to purchase a portion of the land.

In November of 2010 I met with the local top brass at Fry’s to attempt to get this deal approved by headquarters back in Tennessee. Deal approved, and the go-ahead for the first “off-site” fuel station was given.

In August of 2010 the owners of the land received my call and I was given the willingness to sell and the official listing of the property.

In May of 2010 I met with Fry’s executives at the annual ICSC-REcon convention held in Las Vegas, NV. They mentioned to me to look for land within one mile away from existing Fry’s grocery stores (ones that did not have enough room on their site) to source for a fuel station. I began the search immediately after the convention was over.