Though Jared Enterprises has been busy expanding its property portfolio, Chief Operating Officer Curtis Jared says things are just picking up for the company.
“We’ve got quite a few projects just bringing in national tenants and local tenants. Honestly, I’m probably busier than I’ve ever been this time of year, putting together different deals,” he adds.
Recent deals include rehab projects, building to suit, and most recently, finishing a thrift store for the Missouri Council of the Blind and a Five Guys restaurant on North Kansas Expressway.
While ownership wasn’t new for his family, Jared says momentum began building with the acquisition of two convenience stores in 2001.
Those acquisitions launched the creation of the Cody’s convenience store chain, of which Jared was president and CEO.
When Jared Enterprises sold the 37-store chain in 2009 to West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go LC, it retained ownership of the commercial properties, echoing a similar move in 1990 by the Jared family after the sale of the Consumers supermarket chain founded by Curtis Jared’s grandfather, Clarence Wheeler.
“After we sold out of (the Cody’s) business, I just got more and more involved in the commercial real estate end of things,” Jared says.
Today, Jared Enterprises owns or manages roughly 1 million square feet of commercial space, including properties in Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Ozark, Nixa, Rogersville and Springdale, Ark. Among its holdings is the Class-A office building that houses accounting firm BKD LLP. That property was purchased in December 2010 for $13 million from Opus Northwest.
Jared insists on maintaining a hands-on role with day-to-day business, following advice from his grandfather and father, Jerry Jared, to push to be the best at what he does.
“It’s just a matter of taking pride in what you do,” Curtis Jared says.
While the economy has presented challenges for commercial real estate, he says keeping Jared Enterprises healthy goes back to good business sense.
“Looking up the overall return on (a property), make sure you buy it right. If you’re financing, pay back your debt,” he says. “A lot of people keep sucking money out of their various properties as often as they can. You’re just setting yourself up with a house of cards.”
While Jared Enterprises is steadily growing, Jared says his family is being careful to make sure it’s measured growth.
“You don’t have to grow to grow or do a project to do a project,” he says. “If you don’t see us growing, it’s probably because there are no opportunities out there.”[[In-content Ad]]
