The suds & shine car wash at 1420 south 19th avenue has been listed for lease as eighteen curated maker studios with heritage branding. The asking rate is thirty-two dollars per square foot triple net. The building was constructed in 1978 and has not been a car wash since 2019.
Broker Dale Hargrove of Hargrove Commercial says the property offers authentic industrial character with soaring seventeen-foot ceilings. The original coin-operated vacuum bays will be repurposed as private phone booths for video calls. The water reclamation system remains in place as a sculptural element.
We are not erasing history we are elevating it Hargrove said. The target tenant is a digital craftsperson who values provenance. Think ceramicists with substack newsletters. Think small-batch hot sauce founders who need a loading dock.
The listing describes the location as the creative corridor gateway between historic downtown and the four corners innovation district. The neighborhood currently includes a tire shop a marijuana dispensary and a church that meets in a former taco bell.
Owner Mitch Kowalski ran the car wash for thirty-one years before leasing the building to a dog grooming franchise that lasted eleven months. He says he has had seventeen inquiries in the first week. Three were from people who wanted to know if the car wash equipment was included.
I just want someone who pays on time Kowalski said. He plans to use the lease income to winter in mesa arizona where his sister lives in a manufactured home community with a shuffleboard court.
The property includes forty-two surface parking spaces which the listing suggests could accommodate a weekend pop-up market activation. The zoning is b-3 community commercial which allows light manufacturing retail and personal services but not residential. The heritage branding package includes a logo designed by a missoula agency and a website with parallax scrolling.
Tours are available tuesdays and thursdays ten to noon or by appointment at 406-555-0187. The original change machine remains bolted to the wall in what will be the common area kitchenette.