QUESTIONS
ANSWERED

ARES is a hybrid property search platform and scouting service built specifically for independent automotive businesses. We screen commercial real estate listings for automotive zoning compliance, EPA soil history, traffic volume, and lot suitability — before properties reach you.

You can search vetted listings independently through the platform, or work directly with our team on a full scouting engagement where we manage the research and due diligence support from start to finish.

General commercial real estate platforms like CoStar and CREXi are built for broad commercial activity — retail, office, industrial. They list properties and let you filter by price and size. They were not built to screen for automotive zoning classifications, EPA environmental history, or lot configurations suited to service bays and vehicle lifts.

When an independent shop owner uses these tools, they are applying general-purpose filters to a specific-compliance problem. The gap between those two things is where property deals go to die. ARES was built from the ground up around the compliance requirements of automotive operations — the filters that matter to a shop owner are built into the screening process, not added as an afterthought.

ARES was developed through direct customer discovery across more than 17 visits — with independent automotive businesses, auto mall dealerships, commercial real estate brokers, and city planners across the South Sound. The same compliance barriers came up consistently across every conversation: EPA disqualifications discovered mid-deal, land scarcity in viable locations, and commercial brokers unfamiliar with automotive-specific requirements.

The problem is not rare or regional — it is the standard experience for independent shops trying to grow. Those conversations are what shaped every part of how ARES works.

The first step is a no-cost discovery call where we understand your business type, target location, budget, and expansion requirements. From there, you can access vetted property listings through the platform independently, or engage our team for full scouting support.

Pricing is discussed before any commitment is made — there is no cost to search or to have that first conversation. Engagement fees apply when you proceed to a full scouting service, with terms agreed upfront.

ARES is not a brokerage and does not replace a commercial broker for the transaction itself. What ARES does is handle the compliance screening that most brokers are not equipped to do for automotive-specific requirements — so that when you do engage a broker, you are already working from a shortlist of viable properties rather than starting from scratch.

For clients who need broker support, ARES connects them with commercial specialists in our network who have direct experience with automotive real estate. You get a specialist, not a generalist who is learning your industry alongside you.

That is exactly what the due diligence support component of ARES is for. Once you have identified a property you want to pursue seriously, ARES connects you with environmental consultants, zoning attorneys, and commercial brokers who can validate the site and support a protected offer.

The goal is that you never reach the closing stages of a deal without having the right specialists involved at the right time — not scrambling to find them after a problem surfaces.

Automotive operations — including fuel storage, vehicle fluids, and parts cleaning — are regulated land uses. Many sites that appear available have prior contamination from past industrial or automotive activity, which can trigger environmental remediation requirements or outright disqualify a site for automotive use.

ARES screens for EPA soil history and environmental designations upfront, so you are not discovering a contamination problem at the point of due diligence — after money and time have already been committed to the process.

Over the past decade, many cities — including Olympia — have rezoned commercial corridors from industrial or automotive-specific classifications to mixed-use designations. Land that used to support automotive operations is no longer zoned for it. This change is not always obvious from a property listing, and it is not something a generalist broker will necessarily check before recommending a site.

Additionally, grandfathered automotive properties can lose their special use status after a vacancy period as short as one year — meaning even existing shop buildings need to be checked carefully before a long-term commitment is made.

ARES primarily serves independent auto repair shops, performance and specialty shops, and other independent automotive service businesses in the Pacific Northwest. If you own or operate an independent automotive business and you are planning to open, expand, or relocate — ARES is built for your situation.

If you are unsure whether your business type is a fit, a discovery call will tell you quickly — and there is no cost for that conversation.

ARES is currently active in the Pacific Northwest, with primary focus on Olympia, Washington and surrounding markets. Active relationships are in place with commercial real estate professionals across the South Sound.

Coverage is expanding as the broker network grows. If you are outside the current service area, contact us — we will tell you whether your market is within reach or give you a realistic timeline for when it will be added.

Automotive real estate sits at the intersection of two separate industries — commercial real estate and automotive operations — and the compliance requirements are specific enough that general real estate platforms have never had a strong reason to build for it. Independent shop owners have historically absorbed the cost of this gap themselves, working with generalist brokers and discovering compliance problems the hard way.

ARES exists because that gap is real, the cost is measurable, and the information needed to close it is available — it just has never been organised for the people who need it most.