Access to overflow parking
The ability to grow and prosper in the garden store business is directly related to the amount of customer vehicles that can be accommodated at one time. Sure, it’s the selection and the service and the “buzz”, but getting gardeners parked to shop is the key. Springtime can bring huge parking problems for garden stores.
Some stores have employed parking attendants to ease the congestion. Some have valet customer service, moving the cars on and off site at peak business hours and days. ‘the lucky garden store owners have had adjacent or near their land, an overflow parking area. This may be a church parking lot, a school lot or a vacant piece of property.
The owner will pay a fee or contribute in some way to the organization, insure against liability and damage, and take care of the maintenance of the property. This valuable asset may only be used during the busy spring months but this overflow parking can be worth its weight in gold.
Is there the possibility for overflow customer parking near the land?
Yes, there are several possibilities for this. The neighboring land is occupied by a meg-church with a huge parking area. Although they are active each day with gatherings, there is an abundance of parking remaining on the weekdays and Saturday. Sundays are out of the question for use by our store. We have had some preliminary conversations with the church board of directors and they are very interested in providing this overflow. Further negotiations will continue if we take possession of this parcel of land. There are a number of rural pieces of non producing farmland in the area that could be used as overflow parking. Although possible, the cost of minimal improvement to accommodate vehicles may be prohibitive
Utilities on the site
There can be a prohibitive expense to bringing utilities to an undeveloped piece of property, especially in a rural area. That cheap land is not cheap anymore when all the bills are paid for bringing in these services. Gas companies are not interested in running a line unless they can be assured that the usage will be large profitable for them. Connecting to a local sewer district often requires that landowner to pay a “capitalization fee” as much as 20,000.00 and pay for all the hookups and piping into the land. Water also may require a cap fee and hookup expenses. Electrical companies may have to sink a new pole and run new lines to the property, often all charged to the landowner. Those costs have to be seriously examined when weighing this “cheap land” against a property equipped already with the utilities. Oh yes, one more thing. Don’t forget the fire hydrants. Most municipalities want hydrants installed with frequency along a commercial area. The cost to put in these babies is pricey and you will pay the freight for them.
Does this land have all the utilities necessary for a green garden gates?
With one exception, the land is fully ready with the utilities. Fortunately, the nearby mega-church has brought most services to the area. Gas lines, underground power lines, and water lines were installed when the frontage road was built. In addition, a fiber optic transmission line was bundled with these services. We will incur the normal cost of piping the utilities once it reaches the property lines, which is normal. We will however, have to pay for the cost of installation of at least two fire hydrants for the land, with an estimated total expense of about 10,000.00.
What’s that fire truck doing in the azaleas?
As the planning for the building construction begins, all governmental agencies get involved. Sometimes there is a little sleeper restriction by the fire department about the land that could catch you flat footed and really pissed off.
The firemen get nervous about getting onto the property for an emergency. If the land is fenced with locked gates, they will most likely insist on a “Knox Box”, a steel lock box containing keys to the fence and business door locks. The fire department will only have the key to this Knox Box, enabling them to open the gate and doors rapidly. The cost for this box is about 300 bucks, a good investment to save breaking down doors and fence gates
That one is easy. This one can make you very angry.
Fire Departments want more than one way to get into the property to get to a fire or emergency. If your land is on a road that dead ends and the entrance to that road is blocked off for any reason, They may determine that they cannot get the water hoses and equipment to the site. They may require another access off a nearby road for an alternate pathway. It Sounds reasonable doesn’t it? Just put a locked gate on your fence line bordering that another road. But that is the easy part.
Then the fire department will probably have to drive from that emergency entrance into your property to the buildings. That means that FOREVER a pathway large enough for a fire truck will have to be clear and unobstructed AT ALL TIMES, leaving a big swath of land unusable for display and sales of garden store products. That is a lot of land that cannot be used for anything.
When choosing land for a garden store, look closely at roadways for emergency entrances. You may be buying land that can never be used.
Employee commuting
Rural businesses, far away from employee living areas can be difficult for everyone. The commute can be long and rural areas can have many obstructions such as railroad crossings and narrow crowded sometimes unimproved roads. The employee can come to work exasperated and tired of the commute and not in a positive frame of mind for customer service. Also, the services of day care and medical help are far from the location causing additional stress on the employee. The difficulty of the commute may mean the loss of excellent employees over a period of time. When considering land that requires a long commute, understand the sacrifice an employee must make to get to your workplace. Again, that cheap land may not be so cheap after all.
Will there be a difficult employee commute to this site?
The employee commute will be very easy and hassle free. Two major highways leading from the urban core are available from all directions. There are a number of medical and day care facilities near the land. The employees, like our customers, will have not obstructions to get to green garden gates
Taking possession of the land
The time between purchasing the land and taking possession of the land can become very important. Sometimes the owner wants or needs a period of months to vacate the property. There may be buildings and equipment on the site or destruction and removal needed of some facilities. If this lag time occurs during the prime building months of the spring and summer, the garden store business cannot be ready for the planting season. Also, getting possession of land in the dead of winter, with no possibility of construction, can cause a strain on cash flow to no advantage.
Can we take possession of the property at an optimal time for the business?
We have indicated that we would like possession of the property in the early fall of this year. That will give the seller four months lead time to vacate the premises, move all the farming equipment and needed structures, and re-fence his farming property. If we decide on the land, we will sign the contract immediately. Since there is an advantage to this lead time for both buyer and seller, our contract for payment will begin at the time of possession rather than at the time of signing of the contract.
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