There’s a new development coming to the site of the former Rite Aid at Napier Avenue and M-139 in Benton Township.
The Benton Township Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a 12-year Commercial Facilities Tax Exemption for Tommy’s Express Car Wash to locate at the property. This will give the company a 50% property tax reduction during that time, amounting to about $62,000 per year saved on taxes.
Bret Doctor with Tommy’s Express said the location is a good fit.
“We believe this market is well worth it,” Doctor said. “In fact, we normally can do a car wash for every 20,000 people, and so there’s definitely a market for that. Instead of, though, doing one in St. Joe — and we had a site also on the other side, at this old Steak ‘n Shake — we had a site over in St. Joe, and maybe even Stevensville. Instead of doing that, this might be best if we put one right in the middle.”
Doctor said Tommy’s Express is a premium experience that averages about 200,000 car washes per year, per location.
Benton Township Supervisor Kathy Yates told us with the company making a $5.4 million investment, the tax abatement is justified. She appreciates that the site plan was designed for the busy intersection.
“The car wash, hopefully, they’re going to have a design so that you can go in one way and come out and make the right turn to stay with the flow of traffic. That is my hope.”
Yates said the township is happy to welcome another new business as many new ones have been coming in lately.
With the tax abatement granted, Doctor said Tommy’s Express hopes to close on the property this month. They’ll then demolish the old Rite Aid, start construction, and seek to be open by next May.
A previous plan to turn the Rite Aid into multiple restaurants fell through.
