Retail Site Selection Broker in Oklahoma City

About Paul Swales, CCIM

Paul Swales, CCIM, is an Oklahoma licensed commercial real estate broker (license 140417) with Salt Commercial Real Estate, based in Edmond, Oklahoma. He has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate. As Director of Real Estate for Braum's, he oversaw site selection and development across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. His career began with a developer working closely with Walmart, on projects from site selection to project completion. His practice includes tenant representation, investment analysis and development consulting, across retail, industrial, land, office and multifamily property in the Oklahoma City metro. He works directly with retailers, restaurants, developers, owners and investors across the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. Call or text 405-679-3708, email paul@salt-cre.com.

Paul's profile at Salt Commercial Real Estate

Retail Site Selection

Paul Swales, CCIM, with Salt Commercial Real Estate, provides retail site selection in Oklahoma City and across Oklahoma for retailers, restaurants, and developers entering or expanding in the market. He evaluates traffic, visibility, access, demographics, co-tenancy, zoning, and development costs, then negotiates ground leases, build-to-suits, and purchases.

Site selection is where a retail concept succeeds or fails, and it is the work Paul did from the operator side of the table. As Director of Real Estate for Braum's, he had to answer for whether a site performed after it opened, not just whether the deal closed. Every recommended site is tested on traffic, visibility, access, demographics, co-tenancy, zoning and development costs, and on deal structure: ground leases, build-to-suits and purchases.

Tenant Representation for Retailers and Restaurants

Paul Swales, CCIM, provides tenant representation for retailers and restaurants in the Oklahoma City metro, representing the tenant's interests, not the landlord's, in site selection and lease negotiation. Based in Edmond with Salt Commercial Real Estate, he helps single-store operators and multi-unit chains secure locations across Oklahoma.

A landlord's broker works for the landlord. A tenant representative works only for the tenant: finding the right locations, creating competition among landlords, and negotiating base rent, escalations, tenant improvement allowances, build-out periods, renewal options and co-tenancy protections. Paul represents local operators opening a first or second location, regional chains entering Oklahoma, and national concepts that need an Oklahoma broker who knows the trade areas street by street.

Development Land, Pad Sites and Outparcels

Paul Swales, CCIM, helps developers and retailers buy development land, pad sites, and outparcels in the Oklahoma City metro and across Oklahoma. With Salt Commercial Real Estate in Edmond, he identifies parcels that fit a concept's traffic, access, and demographic requirements, and negotiates purchases, ground leases, and build-to-suit structures.

Paul's career began with a developer working closely with Walmart, taking projects from site selection to project completion. He evaluates land the way a developer has to: what can actually be built on it, what the site work and utilities will cost, what zoning and platting require, and which end users the finished pads will attract. For landowners, that means pricing and marketing a parcel based on the development it can realistically support.

Commercial Brokerage

Paul Swales, CCIM, with Salt Commercial Real Estate, provides commercial brokerage in the Oklahoma City metro, buying, selling, and leasing retail, industrial, land, office, and multifamily property. Based in Edmond, he represents owners, buyers, landlords, and tenants across Oklahoma City, Norman, Yukon, Moore, and the wider Oklahoma market.

Retail site selection is the specialty. Full service commercial brokerage is the broader practice, covering retail, industrial, land, office and multifamily property, with investment analysis and development consulting alongside brokerage, so a purchase, sale or lease is evaluated as an investment decision, not just a transaction.

Why Paul Swales

• 20 plus years in commercial real estate: transactions, development and investments.
• Former Director of Real Estate for Braum's. Site selection and development across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri.
• Career began with a developer working closely with Walmart, from site selection to project completion.
• CCIM designee. Investment analysis and development consulting applied to every assignment.
• Oklahoma licensed commercial real estate broker, license 140417, with Salt Commercial Real Estate, based in Edmond. Paul is an agent with Salt. He does not own Salt.

How site selection works: four steps

1. Understand the concept and the market. Start with the concept's real requirements: sales model, customer profile, size, parking, drive-thru needs and co-tenancy. Then map the Oklahoma markets and trade areas where those requirements can be met.
2. Evaluate and compare sites. Identify candidate sites and score each one on traffic, visibility, access, demographics, co-tenancy, zoning and development costs. Weak sites are eliminated early.
3. Negotiate terms. Negotiate the ground lease, build-to-suit, purchase or lease with the site data in hand, so price and terms reflect what the location is worth to the concept.
4. Close and support development. Carry the deal through due diligence and closing, and stay involved through entitlement and development.

Areas Served

Based in Edmond, Oklahoma. Serving the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman, Yukon and Moore, and statewide for retailers, restaurants and developers expanding in Oklahoma.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is a retail site selection broker in Oklahoma City?

Paul Swales, CCIM, a commercial real estate broker with Salt Commercial Real Estate based in Edmond, Oklahoma. He is a former Director of Real Estate for Braum's, where he oversaw site selection and development across five states, and he now applies that operator-side experience to retailers, restaurants and developers in the Oklahoma City metro. Reach him at 405-679-3708 or paul@salt-cre.com.

What does a retail site selection broker do?

A retail site selection broker identifies and evaluates locations for a retailer or restaurant, comparing traffic, visibility, access, demographics, co-tenancy, zoning and development costs. The broker then negotiates the ground lease, build-to-suit or purchase on the client's behalf, so the site fits the concept's sales model and long-term plans.

How much does tenant representation cost a retailer?

In most transactions, the tenant representative's fee is paid by the landlord or seller under the lease or sale agreement, so the retailer typically pays nothing out of pocket. That is not guaranteed in every deal, so confirm who pays, and how much, in the written representation agreement before work begins.

What should a restaurant look for in a pad site in Oklahoma?

Look for strong traffic counts, clear visibility from the main road, easy ingress and egress, and co-tenancy that drives trips during the restaurant's dayparts. Confirm zoning allows restaurant and drive-thru use, check utility capacity and development costs, and make sure the site sits in the trade area where the concept's customers actually live and work.

How does Paul Swales evaluate a retail site?

Paul evaluates traffic, visibility, access, demographics, co-tenancy, zoning and development costs for every site, the same framework he used directing real estate for Braum's across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. He compares competing sites side by side, and negotiates ground leases, build-to-suits and purchases once a site clears that review.

How do I reach Paul Swales?

Call or text Paul Swales at 405-679-3708, or email paul@salt-cre.com. He is based in Edmond, Oklahoma, with Salt Commercial Real Estate, and serves the Oklahoma City metro, including Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman, Yukon and Moore.

Contact Paul Swales