Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced today that the firm arranged the sale of a new construction Quick Quack Car Wash in Yucca Valley, California. The car wash is located on a pad within a Stater Bros-anchored shopping center. The sale price was $2.04 million for the absolute triple-net ground lease.
Hanley Investment Group’s Executive Vice Presidents Bill Asher and Jeff Lefko represented the seller, a private partnership based in Orange County, California, and the buyer, a private investor from Newton, Pennsylvania.
“We procured an experienced single-tenant net-leased investor based on the East Coast who owned a portfolio of similar single-tenant retail investments across the country,” said Asher. “At the time of the closing, the net-leased investment occupied by Quick Quack in Yucca Valley was the first Quick Quack to sell in the U.S. in 2024.”
“Quick Quack’s significant initial investment in constructing and equipping the site, combined with a new 20-year absolute triple-net ground lease with 10% increases every five years at a low, long-term sustainable annual rent, were highly attractive attributes that were appealing to the buyer,” Asher added.
Asher noted that in June 2020, Hanley Investment Group was the first brokerage firm to sell a Quick Quack Car Wash-occupied property as a net-leased investment in California. Hanley Investment Group has sold $350 million in car wash-occupied properties in the U.S. in the last 36 months.
Built in 2023, the 3,596-square-foot Quick Quack Car Wash is located at 58024 Twentynine Palms Highway (21,000 cars per day), near the signalized intersections of Hilton Road and Twentynine Palms Highway, and Balsa Avenue and Twentynine Palms Highway. The car wash sits on a 0.79-acre pad, and the co-tenancy at the Stater Bros-anchored shopping center includes Dollar Tree, Harbor Freight Tools, Tractor Supply Co., Jack in the Box, Pizza Hut, and Subway.
Strategically situated along Twentynine Palms Highway, a major traffic thoroughfare and commercial corridor that stretches across all of San Bernardino County, the property benefits from significant visibility and accessibility. Retailers along Twentynine Palms Highway include Walmart Supercenter, The Home Depot, ALDI, Big Lots, Grocery Outlet, Marshalls, Petco, Ross Dress for Less, Rite Aid, Vons, and Walgreens. The highway serves as the primary arterial that connects Interstate 10 to all of the cities and towns in the Morongo Basin.
The property is located just 10 miles from Joshua Tree National Park, which attracts nearly three million visitors annually. Additionally, it is a 30-minute drive from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), the largest Marine Corps base in the world. The base serves as a major economic catalyst for the region, contributing $1.1 billion annually and housing over 21,000 service members, civilians, and family members.
Founded in 2004, Quick Quack is one of the largest and fastest-growing express format car wash operators in the U.S., with over 230 locations across California, Texas, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.
In June 2024, KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Quick Quack, announced that investment funds managed by KKR have made a significant minority investment in Quick Quack. Quick Quack’s founders and its longtime equity partner, Seidler Equity Partners, will continue to hold meaningful stakes in the company alongside KKR. The new investment will support the continued acceleration of Quick Quack’s growth through innovation, marketing, and organic expansion in new and existing markets.
Asher highlights that the car wash industry’s growth is driven by several factors: it is service-based and internet-resistant, there are more cars nationwide leading to more daily washes, and the express car wash model reduces overhead per location. Additionally, customer lifetime value is expanding due to unlimited wash subscription programs, and the industry has evolved to have a more retail feel with increased mergers, new investments, and expansion efforts. More customers prefer professional car washes over do-it-yourself methods, further driving demand.
“Express car washes are one of the most profitable tenants in the net-lease sector and, therefore, we expect that this segment will continue to experience steady demand from investors in the future,” Asher said. “With margins between 50% to 60%, the average location can be very profitable and withstand potential future economic challenges.”
Asher added, “In certain markets, top-performing car washes have been backfilling vacant pads, former shop buildings and junior box spaces and are becoming quasi ‘anchors’ to a shopping center. These car washes can bring tens of thousands of cars to shopping centers annually. Based on the recent expansion of numerous car wash operators nationwide (including Quick Quack), we expect to see a significant increase in the number of single-tenant net-lease car wash properties for sale over the next 18 months.”
