Curtis Jared, president and chief operating officer of Jared Enterprises, speaks in front of a sold-out crowd at Hilton Garden Inn as part of Springfield Business Journal's 12 People You Need to Know series.
Curtis Jared is carving a niche in the Springfield-area commercial development market by building on decades of family experience.
Jared, president and chief operating officer of Jared Enterprises, was interviewed this morning by Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson in front of a sold-out crowd of roughly 170 people at Hilton Garden Inn as part of SBJ's monthly 12 People You Need to Know breakfast series.
Jared Enterprises' entrance into the commercial market came after the company sold the 37-store Cody's convenience store chain in 2009 to West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go LLC. In that sale, Jared Enterprises retained ownership of the properties, representing a similar deal to one made in 1990, when the Jared family sold the Consumers supermarket chain founded by Jared's grandfather, Clarence Wheeler. Jared said Wheeler helped shape his business philosophy.
"I don't want to be like everybody else," Jared said. "I want to do it my way."
With that focus, and a desire to build long-term relationships with tenants, Jared and his company have expanded its commercial portfolio to more than 1 million square feet. Now, 75 percent of Jared Enterprises' roughly 100 properties are in the retail sector.
Jared said he equates the landlord-tenant relationship to a marriage.
"If I'm helping my tenant succeed and they're doing well, then they can pay me rent. That's what it boils down to. I actually do care about them making money," Jared said. "Just like a marriage, you've got to make it work so it stays long term. If not, unfortunately it comes to that divorce phase, and it's not always a pretty situation that most people don't like to talk about in this industry."
Always looking down the road, Jared said the strength of client relationships can serve as security for Jared Enterprises, which he calls a real estate, investment, development and management firm.
A recent example was the relocation of Price Cutter's headquarters into a newly renovated 50,000-square-foot former general store in eastern Greene County. Jared Enterprises, which leases several properties to Price Cutter parent Pyramid Foods, worked out a temporary deal to provide extra storage space for Price Cutter at the Rogersville property before a need for more office space led the move to the new digs at the former Deerfield General Store. "In the course of business during the years, they were needing growth space for their office, so that was the perfect fit - renovating the building for them and getting it all set up," Jared said, noting the deal was a direct result of "the relationships you build up working directly with your tenants and actually taking an interest in their business."
Price Cutter also recently leased the former Smillie’s Market on South Glenstone Avenue from Jared's company.
For Jared, working one-on-one with clients is top of mind.
"I want to be the one to deal with them directly and (ask), 'What is it that we need to do to make this deal work?'" Jared said. "I like to look at them face-to-face across the table, negotiate back and forth, because if you see what their end goal is and what my end goal is, we'll make a deal work."
Jared Enterprises last month inked a multiyear lease with Lathrop & Gage LLP for the law firm to occupy 19,000 square feet on the first floor of BKD LLP’s 910 St. Louis Street headquarters in downtown Springfield. The move marked the first tenant outside of BKD to enter the $21.5 million property, which Jared Enterprises purchased in 2010 from Kansas City developer Opus Northwest LLC.
Jared said the remaining 2,500 square feet of the building, which was available for lease, has been taken off the market at the request of BKD and Lathrop & Gage to allow for extra flex space.
"We did have interest in (the space)," Jared said. "It's not always about the money, but making sure your tenant's happy."
The renovation of a former Blockbuster at Jared Enterprises' Battlefield Plaza development led to the opening this month of the third location of Pasta Express. Moving forward, Jared said The Grotto is slated to relocate to the development and join Joplimo Mattress in a stand-alone building under construction by Larry Snyder & Co.
Jared also said recent talks with Trader Joe's officials indicated the company doesn't anticipate moving into the Springfield market for at least five years.[[In-content Ad]]
