Chehalis will soon be getting a new Discount Tire location following a lease approval during the Chehalis City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 28.
The lease is with Halle Properties, LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona — which manages real estate for the company — to build the Discount Tire at 1815 NW Louisiana Ave. next to Taco Bell and Home Depot.
Additionally, construction of the Panda Express located just around the corner on the other side of Home Depot at 710 NW Arkansas Way is set to begin by the end of June, Chehalis-Centralia Airport Director Brandon Rakes told The Chronicle in an email.
The Panda Express lease was approved by the Chehalis City Council in February 2023.
The Discount Tire lease agreement starts at 15 years at a base rent-rate of $40,000 annually, with seven additional five-year lease extensions optional as well.
“The terms and conditions are very similar to what we’ve used in the past,” Rakes told the council on Tuesday.
It was approved by a vote of 6-1 by the Chehalis City Council, with Councilor John Six being the sole opposition.
Six opposed the lease for two reasons. His first concern revolved around trying to get a local business instead of one based out of state.
Rakes explained the property had been available for a while, but no local businesses had shown interest in the space yet.
“I believe (Discount Tire) has done their due diligence and that it would be sustainable, especially with our development in that area being somewhat of auto-row in that area,” Rakes said. “And at the end of the day, I think the competition is also good for the consumer.”
Following the meeting, Rakes added though Discount Tire is headquartered in Arizona, the location will still be generating sales tax revenue for Chehalis.
Being in that “auto row” of vehicle dealerships was another concern of Six’s, though.
With a Les Schwab Tire Center located just down the road along with tire services also being offered at I-5 Toyota, Interstate Honda of Chehalis and the Walmart Supercenter on NW Louisiana Avenue, he believes the area was becoming oversaturated with those types of businesses.
According to Rakes, the concentration of these businesses is purposeful in order to create the “auto row” area.
