Rancho Cucamonga, CA – July 6, 2023 – Progressive Real Estate Partners, the Inland Empire’s leading retail real estate brokerage firm, announced today the $7,157,500 sale of the Merit Auto Spa full-service car wash center located at 465 N. McKinley Street in Corona, California. The purchase included both the business and real estate. The recently renovated car wash is an outparcel to the 270,000 sf Corona Hills Marketplace which is anchored by a Walmart Supercenter, Vons, PetSmart, AutoZone, Applebee’s and Red Robin.
Progressive Real Estate Partners’ Victor Buendia, Senior VP of Business and Commercial Real Estate Sales, represented the Orange County private party seller in the transaction. The seller is relocating out of state and to expedite the process and avoid the typical lengthy due diligence as well as potential buyer financing challenges opted to sell the property through an online auction. The auction, facilitated by Ten-X, attracted multiple qualified bids and resulted in a successful non-contingent all-cash sale completing the process in just 98 days.
The buyer is a Los Angeles County private investor that also operates successful car wash businesses in Temecula and Long Beach.
Merit Auto Spa features a full-service hand wash with 120’ tunnel, professional detailing and oil change services as well as a café, market and spacious lobby. Originally built in 1989, the seller completed a major renovation of the property in 2021 that included new tunnel equipment, new roof, new HVAC units and solar panel units as well as redesigning and remodeling the interior to improve the customer experience.
Centrally located just north of the 91 freeway, the business is near the intersection of McKinley Street and Griffin Way with excellent street frontage on a major retail corridor with a combined average daily traffic count of over 38,000 cars. Within a 15-minute drive there is a daytime population of 134,000+ and an overall population of 434,000+ with an average household income of $118,000. The center is also directly across from two other major regional shopping centers which are home to Costco, Home Depot, Ross, TJ Maxx, JoAnn Fabrics, Big 5 Sporting Goods and others.
According to Victor Buendia, “Full service car washes in prime locations continue to be in demand and especially in densely populated affluent trade areas. This property was especially attractive due to the recent major renovation”. He added, “With the seller relocating out of state the priority was certainty of close in a timely fashion. In light of the current financing environment the online auction provided the opportunity to streamline the due diligence process and secure an all cash buyer which resulted in more favorable terms for the seller compared to other prospects that required more time to secure financing”.
About Progressive Real Estate Partners
Progressive Real Estate Partners (PREP) is a boutique commercial brokerage firm headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Founded in 2008, the firm specializes in the leasing and sale of retail properties in Southern California’s Inland Empire. The firm is also the exclusive Inland Empire representative of the Retail Brokers Network (RBN). Since the firm’s inception Progressive has completed over 1,200 lease and sales transactions valued at over $1.8B in over 35 cities throughout the region. Progressive uses the latest marketing and brokerage techniques to help retailers and property owners achieve their real estate goals.