That's a helluva difference in construction plans. Well, you seem to be on the right path with the market studies...but how many cars are in the area? How far are these people commuting? Any real roads or highways in the area, where a gas station and a liquor/convenience store would be a nice break, or rest stop? If the closest gas station is one mile away, take into account that your radius of potential customers is overlapping theirs, and vice versa. While it's one mile out, your base may only be the 1/2 mile radius...much smaller, and I'd think riskier.

Take into account your life cycle costs as well. I assume there must be a lot of cars nearby if the city was eager to see a parking garage. How much are they charging nearby for parking? How close is the next garage? I think after the initial construction cost, the running costs would be substantially less then that of a gas station. I know flat ground level lots are basically cash cows...with the exception of someone in the booth, maybe some security and the occassional re-striping costs, it just makes money.

 

Any GOOD Laundry sales rep could put together a business plan for you. I recently threw out the one I had. It had something like the following. Keep in mind this was to upgrade an existing location with new equiptment (service life 7 years some stretch to 10) 500 sq foot location, triple net lease, 125k for the new equiptment, 4k for all utilities gas/electric/water/sewer a month, 5k month for payrole for attendant. The equiptment could be financed on a three year note. It currently had a "real" monthly cas flow of 10k but the upgrades would (speculating on more business) be 18k a month. But remember the more you make the greater your expenses ie water,electric etc. And rememder your insurance. After expenses and all was said and done you would net a gross an average of 6k a month when things are going good if you did the remodel for cash, if you financed it you would barely break even until year 3. Now if you own the building that changes things. Just remember a rep will do the leg work for you. You would have to reduce there figures by 20% to adjust for the real world. As I said before sometimes being the landlord is more profitable then running a business. But everyone specializes in there own thing.

 

i worked on a gas station a few years ago. the contracter in charge of the job specializes in building gas stations. biggest part of the job was putting in all new storm drains and the power and plumbing for the car wash. the more area you pave the more water you end up collecting and having to move out of there. and upgrading this stuff can be a real hassle if you're in a busy area.

 

As mentioned in my earlier thread, a preliminary survey of locals in that poor neighborhood and a traffic count of about 250 vehicles in 8 minutes by the lot, reveals that a gas station there, seems to be a major necessity. This location is in the heart of LA downtown on a very major street going by the Convention Center. The location is only a mile away from the LA Convention Center & LA Staples Center and the Freeways 10, 110, & 101 are right in the vicinity. Btw, no overlapping...nothing in a diameter of 2 miles...but, we will reconfirm & doublecheck it!

There are 3 to 4 very small (about 10 to 15 autos), ground level lots in this pocket, which are doing ok, but most of the parking is free, and the employees are also parking for free in the commercial/light industrial parking lots!

A new idea just occurred to me ...what if I strike a partnership with the City (Trump does it very often) and create City designated parking for the Convention Center on my lot with a Parking Structure...City gets me the clients & guaranteed parking revenues, and I solve their huge parking problem and share the revenues with them...I'm sure people won't mind walking a mile, if the city requires them?! I sure would love to hear your & others thoughts on this new parking twist!!

 

websthes, could you get in touch with this contractor and ask him if there is a nationwide directory of contractors and related personnel which specialize in building gas stations?!...if anyone else has any clues to the steps & procedure involved in building a Gas Station with a Convenience/Liquor store, that will certainly be helpful to take a multi-pronged approach!!

 

sorry.. that job was two years ago. i don't even remember the guy's name. but the backhoe guy was just telling me how he worked building gas stations for 15 years. unfortunately i live in Quebec so I have no clue how the business works in your state except from what i've read here about California's energy/environemntal policies.

My advice is when hiring any contractor, talk to the people who have already had work done. find out who the players are. i'd call around to oil companies, talk to people who own gas stations, maybe visit a few job sites in the suburbs where they're building new stations.

you could also try and talk to whoever is in charge of enforcing the environmental laws. we can't even pave a parking lot without an inspector coming to check our work, never mind building a gas station with thousands of gallons of fuel buried underground. i work with the same city inspector day after day. some bureaucrat knows who these guys are.

 

A new idea just occurred to me ...what if I strike a partnership with the City (Trump does it very often) and create City designated parking for the Convention Center on my lot with a Parking Structure...City gets me the clients & guaranteed parking revenues, and I solve their huge parking problem and share the revenues with them...I'm sure people won't mind walking a mile, if the city requires them?! I sure would love to hear your & others thoughts on this new parking twist!!

So, after all, I didn't drop the idea of the Parking Structure, and have given it a new twist, by exploring a partnership with the City ...how do you all think about it?

33PPP wrote:
Now if you own the building that changes things. Just remember a rep will do the leg work for you. You would have to reduce there figures by 20% to adjust for the real world. As I said before sometimes being the landlord is more profitable then running a business. But everyone specializes in there own thing.

Yes, I own the property, and if we build the laundromat, I would buy the machines outright...I hate the idea of financing anything...lenders always try to screw with their high interest rates! Wouldn't buying the machines outright be a better approach than leasing them? Is there a good resource to get hold of some talented laundry sales reps, who would put together a good biz plan?

websthes wrote:
My advice is when hiring any contractor, talk to the people who have already had work done. find out who the players are. i'd call around to oil companies, talk to people who own gas stations, maybe visit a few job sites in the suburbs where they're building new stations.

You're right on websthes, that's exactly what I was intending to do. In this pursuit, I have found a website called: stationusa.com, which advertises the Gas Stations & Convenience Stores around the country. Btw, they also have a forum, but it seems like there is hardly anyone on that forum!!

The Market Survey results should be in by tomorrow for the multitude of ideas proposed here on this forum, and then we will find out, which ones are the winners...till then hold your horses..LOL!!

 

Don't leave out a 24 hour Drive Thru Pharmacy to go along with Liquor and Beer.
.....=o&o>.....

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post go to a web site called CLA (Coin Laundry Association) there is a wealth of info and it can put you in direct contact with a vendor of equiptment in your area. I would consult more then one for a quote and ask around at some local laundromats. You'd be amazed at what an owner is willing to show you about there daily operations. Remember cheaper is not always better when you are relying on equiptment to make you money.

 

Im still looking for a combination gas station/ammunition store/rib joint .

 

WheelMA1, where's the alcohol? This is a must with guns.
.....=o&o>.....

 

Don't leave out a 24 hour Drive Thru Pharmacy to go along with Liquor and Beer......=o&o>.....

Beemer Nut, Drive Thru Pharmacy was an excellent original idea from you last night, which was incorporated as part of the market survey conducted today...I wasn't too happy with the small # of people interviewed today...I would be getting more survey results this week from at least 50 people! Btw, WheelMA1 is presuming that his aggressively sought after rib joint is gonna serve the alcohol...ha ha!!!

 

I'm surprised they (forum) haven't shut this thread down.
Don't forget a drive thru medical marijuana and assorted accessories / posters.
.....=o&o>.....

 

Don't leave out a 24 hour Drive Thru Pharmacy to go along with Liquor and Beer

Not interested in anything to do with marijuana ...however, FYI, it's not uncommon for grocery stores like Vons to sell liquor & beer and also have their in-house pharmacy in the same store!

Remember cheaper is not always better when you are relying on equiptment to make you money.

33PPP, there is a saying:

"If you buy cheap, you cry 100 times,
but, if you buy expensive, you cry once!"

This certainly applies in the context of a busy business with a lot of wear & tear, such as a laundromat, where each $ you make, depends on your equipment reliabililty!

 

Didn't want everyone to think that I forgot about the prospects of Gas Station and/or other business possibilities on this property. Based on all the feedback I received from you all, I just completed my survey and feasibility study, driven by the needs in the area, to crystallize some decisions! My sincere thanks for all your inputs to help me design an unbiased survey!!

Surprisingly, the biggest need showed up as the Pharmacy with close rivals being the Gas Station with Convenience Store(CS). Does anyone know if a Pharmacy is permitted on an M-1 zoned lot?

The Convention Center & Staples Center don't have enough daily events to even fill their big parking lots; the story on the weekends is, however different. So, I am now dropping the idea of the Parking Structure, which is supported by the survey as well.

Based on this information, would a Gas Station with a CS, along with some OTC meds be a good plan? All feedback is highly appreciated!