Car wash planned at former Montana Mike's

Jennifer Bailey, Commercial-News, Danville, Ill.
·4 min read

Oct. 10—DANVILLE — Texas-based Smitty's Car Wash is planning to open a car wash location next year at the former Montana Mike's Steakhouse restaurant site on North Vermilion Street.

The Danville City Council on Tuesday will consider an alley vacation near 3215 N. Vermilion St. for Squirrel's Real Estate LLC of Lufkin, Texas. The council meets at 6 p.m. at city hall.

Jeff Newland, director of construction with the real estate company, said the alley vacation wasn't necessary for the project, but the adjacent alley to the north and east of the site has been used for an electrical easement.

Newland said Smitty's is a tunnel express car wash.

He said Champaign's would be their first Illinois location, with Danville being No. 2.

Newland said Champaign's Smitty's Car Wash should open in first quarter of 2023, with Danville's following.

"It looks like a great site," he said of the North Vermilion Street site in Danville.

He said they look at where a site is situated and the amount of traffic at a possible location.

The car wash typically has 15-20 employees to operate it 12 hours a day, seven days a week. It's typically open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with three to four employees per shift.

They will be demolishing the current building as part of construction.

They have more than 20 car washes across the country.

According to HR Group, Smitty's is a premium developer and operator of state-of-the-art exterior express car wash locations. With locations across Texas, Montana, Nevada, Indiana, Illinois, Indiana and Maryland, the company offers one-time and monthly wash memberships across all locations providing a consistent, customer-driven approach for a better and fast wash experience.

According to Smitty's Car Wash website, "We devote time to getting to know our customers and providing the best service. Here at Smitty's Car Wash, you'll find everything you need to clean your car. We are big enough to serve you, but small enough to know you. Our mission is to create a community-first car wash where customers can be confident that we take pride in their ride and our vision is to provide hometown support and be leaders in both the community and the car wash industry."

In other business Tuesday, the Danville City Council will consider:

* Providing for the payment of certain outstanding bonds of the Danville Public Building Commission.

* Approving the purchase of real estate at 1128 E. Fairchild St. and 1130 E. Fairchild St. for Garfield Park improvements and also 1510 Valleyview Ave. from Jonathan Mourer for $200,000; and 1218 E. Fairchild St. (including the seller's relocation costs) for $33,600 from Theordore Brownlee for the Garfield Park planned improvements.

* Amending the 2022 sealcoat contract for an additional $31,950 for a total contract of $664,067 with Daniel L. Ribbe Trucking.

* Amending the Countryway drainage improvements contract by an additional $14,124 with Stark Excavating for a total contract of $125,924.

* Approving an $83,400 contract with Citizenserve for building safety, code enforcement, business licensing software, and authorizing a budget amendment coming from general fund reserves to the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget.

* Approving a one-year extension of the environmental code enforcement software license agreement for $20,385 with the Sidwell Co. for Accela software.

* Amending the contract for construction engineering services for the Denmark and Old Ottawa roadway and pedestrian improvements and amending the fiscal year 2022-2023 infrastructure development budget. According to the resolution, "Due to unforeseen conditions and delays encountered during construction, utility coordination and adjustments, and changes in the scope of construction, the duration of construction has continued for longer than anticipated, resulting in the need for additional inspection services." The cost of the extra services is $65,000. The city council had approved a $269,110 contract with Knight and Associates Surveying LLC. This increases the contract to $334,110.

* Authorizing agreements for provisions of electricity for city-owned buildings and streetlights. The city has requested updated bids through Good Energy, due to a current agreement expiring. The bidding will be Oct. 18. If the agreements are found to be in the city's best interest, they will run from 12-36 months.