Super Star car wash in Lake Elsinore sells for $3.4 million before construction wrapped
A Southern California 1031 exchange buyer secured the single-tenant express wash on a pre-sale basis, underscoring continued investor appetite for net-leased wash assets.
By The Car Wash News Staff
3 min read
A newly built Super Star Car Wash in Lake Elsinore, California has changed hands for $3.4 million, with the buyer locking in the deal before the site even opened. The transaction, arranged by Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, illustrates the durable demand for express car wash real estate as a passive investment vehicle.
According to reporting from the International Carwash Association, the property sits on a pad within a Stater Bros-anchored retail development at the signalized intersection of Central Avenue and Cambern Avenue. Hanley executives Bill Asher and Jeff Lefko represented the seller and developer, Evergreen Devco, Inc., while a private Southern California investor was represented by CBRE's Dan Riley.
Lease terms drove the sale
The wash carries a 20-year absolute triple-net ground lease with 10% rental increases every five years across the base term and each option period. That structure leaves the landlord with minimal responsibilities, making the asset a hands-off, long-term holding backed by Super Star, a 115-unit multi-state operator. Asher said the firm generated multiple qualified offers and closed with a 1031 exchange buyer shortly after the location opened for business.
The site's location adds to its appeal. The retail corridor draws 13 million annual visits according to Placer.ai, and the wash benefits from visibility along Highway 74 and Central Avenue, which carry 28,000 cars per day, plus immediate access to Interstate 15 at 127,000 cars per day. Co-tenants in the center include 7-Eleven, Pollo Campero, and a Dutch Bros Coffee currently being marketed for sale, with a Stater Bros grocery store under construction and projected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.
A pattern in net-lease wash deals
Asher pointed to sustained investor interest in single-tenant net-leased express washes in California, noting that operators like Super Star commit significant capital to each build. He said such investments give buyers "security and certainty for long-term ownership." The pre-sale, completed before construction finished, reflects how competitive the market has become for stabilized, service-oriented retail with long lease terms.
Why it matters for operators
This deal is a reminder that a car wash is not just an operating business, it is also a real estate asset whose value can be unlocked through sale-leaseback and net-lease structures. Operators building new express sites in high-traffic, retail-anchored locations may find that the underlying real estate commands strong pricing from passive investors and 1031 exchange buyers, sometimes before the doors even open.
The lease terms here are worth studying. A 20-year absolute triple-net structure with 10% bumps every five years shifts nearly all property responsibilities and risk to the tenant, which is what makes the asset attractive to investors but also commits the operator to escalating rent for decades. Operators weighing whether to own or lease their locations should model those escalations carefully against projected wash volume. Positioning near grocery anchors, major highways, and established national retailers clearly boosts both traffic and resale value, so site selection remains one of the highest-leverage decisions an operator can make.
