Car Wash Proposed for Prominent Front/Garfield Property

A multi-million-dollar property marketed as one of a few “true marquee corners” in Traverse City at the corner of East Front Street and Garfield Avenue is proposed to be the site of a new Tommy’s Express Car Wash.

Traverse City planning commissioners will review the application at their 6pm meeting tonight (Tuesday) at the Governmental Center. The 1.2-acre property – which includes two parcels, 1054 and 1060 East Front Street – formerly housed the East Front Burger King and Cuppa Joe businesses. The Casciano family, who own multiple Burger King franchises in Traverse City, put the property on the market in 2022 after they decided not to renew their franchise agreement for the location.

At the time, the site was listed for $3.45 million. That price more recently dropped down to $2.65 million. Tommy’s Express, which bills itself as the fastest-growing car wash franchise with over 270 locations, now has a purchase agreement to buy the site and combine the two parcels for a new Traverse City location. The company, known for its red-and-white buildings with matching red car brushes, also has locations in Cadillac and Gaylord.

Tommy’s Express touted its “environmentally friendly” business model, “efficient processing,” and “world-class facility and operations” in its application. The 5,484-square foot car wash would be oriented close to East Front Street, with 11 vacuum spaces and a mat-washing building behind. The company says it uses advanced lighting controls and LED lights to “ensure every location can monitor and manage their every-day power usage,” along with a clear acrylic roof system “so no lighting is required during most operational hours.”

According to the application, every Tommy’s Express Car Wash location uses an “advanced water reclaim system which not only uses up to 60 percent less fresh water than washing at home, it also keeps 100 percent of used water out of the storm system.” That system is notable given the Traverse City location sits one block south of Grand Traverse Bay.

Tommy’s Express also highlighted its “unique, high-capacity design and proven efficient layout,” which allows its car washes to process more than 200 vehicles per hour. The property listing flagged the site’s high visibility to vehicles at the Front/Garfield intersection. “These two roads are both main feeders that converge and funnel approximately 50,000 cars per day into Traverse City from the east and the south,” the listing states.

However, when the property was first listed, City Planning Director Shawn Winter hoped it could transition away from drive-thru uses toward a development with the potential to reduce traffic conflicts and curb cuts at the Garfield/Front intersection. Tommy’s Express is planning to keep the same curb cuts onto the two roads that existed for Burger King and Cuppa Joe. Winter says auto-centric uses like car washes are still allowed by right in the district, though, so the development as proposed appears to meet the zoning code. His staff review of the application found it met the site standards.

Since it’s a use-by-right, planning commissioners are legally required to approve the application if they also find it meets the site standards. They could deny or delay the application if they believed otherwise, but must in that case provide “data or evidence or something to support that decision,” Winter says. He notes that the city’s recently updated master plan calls for the planning commission to look at standards for “drive-thrus and other auto-centric uses to determine if uses are in proper zoning districts with appropriate standards,” according to the plan language. That issue has come up as city officials discussed concerns about fast-food drive-thrus backing up onto East Front Street and the possibility for multiple gas stations to come online with fuel companies looking to expand their footprint.

However, the planning commission hasn’t yet tackled auto-centric uses, so the existing rules remain in place, Winter says. Tommy’s Express “submitted under our current regulations,” so that’s what the application must be reviewed under, he says. Both Winter and realtor Kevin Endres of Three West previously discussed the unique multi-use opportunities for the sprawling site when it hit the market, particularly for some kind of residential component. However, Endres tells The Ticker that despite the property going under contract a couple times with multi-family developers, “the issue they ran into was construction costs.”

“It was more about those costs than even the place of the property,” he says. “Some of these projects, unless they have big density like out on LaFranier, they could get the property for free and it still wouldn’t pencil out. They could not get the numbers there.” Endres said retailers and other quick-service restaurants also explored the site but similarly couldn’t make the pricing work. Tommy’s Express remains in its due diligence phase to purchase the site pending city approval, Endres says.

For its part, Tommy’s Express highlighted its commitment to being a good local partner, including encouraging franchise owners to partner “with local organizations for the benefit of the community.” The company wrote that every location “must maintain our high standards of professionalism,” adding that “extensive training and regular auditing provides cities with a clean, professionally run destination and valuable community partner.”

Pictured: Rendering of a typical Tommy's Express Car Wash