Spanky’s breaks ground on Riverside Drive in Parker

A new retail store broke ground on the main street in Parker, AZ Thursday morning, with representatives of lots of agencies and organizations in attendance to celebrate the occasion. It marks the first step toward re-developing the old Alewine property, which has a storied history.

Spanky’s RV & Marine is a business with a longstanding reputation for meeting the needs of boat and RV owners, and was approved to move to the Riverside Drive property by the La Paz Economic Development Corporation. The EDC was tasked with finding suitable new developments by the Town of Parker, which bought the property in recent years.

The EDC’s Skip Becker spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, saying Spanky’s is exactly what the town had in mind when it purchased the property for redevelopment.

“Don came over to my office one morning, he said ‘I have an idea, I’m thinking about moving my business over to Riverside Drive on the Town of Parker property, what do you think?'” he related.

Becker said they talked about it for a while and agreed that it was a good fit. “It has been a great pleasure working with my friends Don and Donna,” he added. “Thank you for trusting me and my organization to help make your dreams come true.”

Don and Donna Rountree are the owners of Spanky’s, and said they were building the business not for themselves but for their children and grandchildren, some of whom were in attendance at the event. Don said that three generations of their family would benefit from moving their popular store to the main strip in town.

Spanky’s has long been known as a place to buy recreation supplies that fit the Parker area’s passions: tubes and towables for river fun, custom ski ropes, boat supplies of all sorts and many supplies for RVs and motorhomes, relied upon by thousands of winter visitors who arrive each winter from colder states. The new store on Riverside Drive will be an expanded version, stocked with even more supplies.

The Rountrees thanked the Town, the EDC, and the Chambers of Commerce in Parker and Lake Havasu City, where many of their supplies originate. “Keeping the money on this river is what’s important,” Don said.

Among the other speakers were town council member Jerry Hooper, the EDC’s Roberta Hoffman, County Supervisor D.L. Wilson, Chamber of Commerce Director Mary Hamilton, construction head Mark Durham and others. The Rountrees also acknowledged Horizon Community Bank, which is financing the new build.