Hurd Commercial Real Estate Services purchased the former Quality Ford site in West Des Moines last week for $1.5 million.

The terms of the transaction were “favorable,” said Richie Hurd, who handles marketing and sales for the firm. The property at 1271 Eighth St. is assessed at $2.733 million.

Hurd Commercial plans to develop two build-to-suit retail buildings on the northern portion of the 3.5-acre parcel and hopes to find a suitable tenant for the existing 18,000-square-foot space before it considers demolishing the “structurally sound” building.

“I think it can be rehabbed into something; we just have to find the right user,” Hurd said.

Two potential tenants have shown interest in the planned singe-tenant buildings, Hurd said, and he has shown the former car dealership several times, though no one has displayed much interest in the building yet.

“I don’t know if they’re just tire kickers or what,” he said.

The company has also approached Kum & Go LC, which operates a convenience store just north of the site, about a possible expansion.

“We’ve talked to them,” Hurd said. “I think that would be a good fit. We’d love to do a deal with them. It seems logical.”

Stacey’s Prom and Stacey’s Bra & Lingerie Inc. had shown some interest in purchasing the property in April, but the deal apparently fell through. The City Council passed on June 1 a code amendment that would allow Stacey’s to open a new store and reception hall at the site, said Chris Shires, West Des Moines’ development coordinator.

Facing financial trouble, Quality Ford owner Franklin Greene closed the dealership in 2007.