Les Schwab seeks move from Franklin Ave. to Third Street

When a piece of commercial land went up for sale on Northeast Third Street in Bend, Les Schwab Tire Center saw an opportunity to relocate its long-standing Franklin Avenue location.

The new spot would be on a piece of commercial land between Clay and Burnside avenues.

The company said it has a signed purchase agreement with the seller. They have also been working with the City of Bend on the permits process and city code for that particular piece of land.

Part of the process includes a zone change for that area.

“We just did another zone change for a project out on Bear Creek (Avenue) and Purcell (Boulevard) to allow a certain type of use out there,” city Community Development Director Russell Grayson said Tuesday.

“Most of the time, they go in, and they have to meet the use tables that are currently in our code. Under some special circumstances and conditions, we would take it forward to (City) Council, if the policy decisions must be made at that level.”

Grayson said Les Schwab has submitted a land use application, but the application is incomplete and the city is working with the company to get more information.

He said there are a couple different ways Les Schwab can go with the approval process, but no matter what, there will be a chance for the public to comment.

Grayson said it could take anywhere from six months to a year before a decision is made either way.

Dale Thompson, the chief marketing officer for Les Schwab, said, “We’re trying to find a location and a building that is better suited for our customers, better in-and-out access to the site and easier for the customer, maybe a little safer for side road entrances, rather than right off First Street, and trying to upgrade and modernize a facility that’s been there for a long time.”

Thompson said the facility they’re in on Franklin Avenue is fine for current operations, so there are no other plans in place at this time to look at other locations or remodel the current buildings.

The proposed new location would sit on a lot that’s approximately half the size lot as the location on Franklin Avenue.

“That’s one of the advantages,” Thompson said. “It’s going from roughly four down to two acres. We would obviously want to make sure we can service the customer the way we do now and the customer base we do now.”

“Because it’s a lot of passenger cars, it’s a lot of vans and trucks and trailers and things that come through, and we’d have to have the space for all of that. And so we are looking at the site and looking at the flow of it, and we think it will work better for customers, and a more condensed site.”

NewsChannel 21 talked Tuesday with Hardy’s and the other business currently on the land that’s for sale. No one was available or willing to go on camera and talk about the situation.