The new Discount Tire store on Santiam Highway looks finished but isn’t open yet.
A few days ago, somebody on Facebook challenged me to find out why the new Albany Discount Tire store at 2860 Santiam Hwy. had not yet opened.
I went by the place, at the corner of Santiam Highway and Shortridge Street, on Friday and made a couple of phone calls, and I think I have an answer.
Construction seems all but complete, at least from the outside. The building is finished, signs are up, the parking lot has been striped, and even the landscaping is in.
A sign on the door said the business could not accept deliveries just yet and gave a couple of names and phone numbers to call.
One of the numbers is that of Michael Wood, who is based in Vancouver, Wash., and works on facilities for Discount Tire in the Northwest.
Wood was not at liberty to tell me what was holding things up. But he said construction work would resume next week, and even though he couldn’t give a date he was confident the business would open soon.
“Sooner rather than later” was the way he put it.
Maybe there was a snag with the city signing off on the construction? The people at City Hall who would know about that were not available Friday afternoon.
But I did learn of one snag: Apparently the site’s facilities to handle stormwater runoff, when tested, had not functioned as intended and would have to be rebuilt.
Maybe that’s what Wood referred to when he said construction would resume next week.
I first reported on this project in March 2021 when a site plan for an Albany outlet of Discount Tire, a nationwide chain based in Arizona, was filed with the city.
Two years later, it now looks like the store will be in business as soon as it has a functioning system to handle the rain. (hh)
Lotsa tire stores here. New billboard – Albany, The Tire Capitol of I-5 – So Don’t Blow By!
One wonders whether Discount Tire employees will run like the Les Schwab tire techs do.
You mean not at all? I remember this being a thing years ago. Not much reason to be running around when it takes hours to get a rotation, any other service done.
Thanks for the update! Now can you investigate the reason why the Mexican restaurant construction across the street has completely stopped? Nothing has happened there for months!
Beggs Tires are my go-to guys/gals.
Buy local folks.
I have received excellent service from both Beggs locations. Unfortunately, we’re in a “one down, one to go” situation now.
Didn’t the city ok. The grade before the even before paving started? Are they paying taxes on the property yet ?
Thank you, Hasso, for checking in to this, and for all the other investigations you do.