Showing posts with label self storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self storage. Show all posts

Friday, June 7, 2019

Rockville Planning Commission to review consolidation of 3 N. Stonestreet Ave. lots

Self-storage building
planned for combined site

Poverni Sheikh Group has applied to the City of Rockville to consolidate three plats on N. Stonestreet Avenue into one final plat for redevelopment purposes. The applicant proposes to construct a self-storage facility, with 2800 SF of ground-floor retail, on the combined lot at 204 N. Stonestreet Avenue. 204 N. Stonestreet is bordered to the west by the CSX railroad and Metro trackage.

City staff are recommending approval of the final plat, with conditions. The Planning Commission will take up the application at its Wednesday, June 12, 2019 meeting at 7:00 PM at Rockville City Hall.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Public meetings scheduled for proposed self-storage, retail center in Rockville

Public meetings have been scheduled for two development projects proposed in Rockville. One is a 95000 SF self-storage facility that would be located at 204 North Stonestreet Avenue. The public can learn more at a meeting to be held Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM at the Rockville Memorial Library 1st floor meeting room, at 21 Maryland Avenue.

On the next night, a public meeting on a proposed 6000 SF retail center at 900 Rockville Pike will be held on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 7:00 PM, in the Blue Crab Conference Room at Rockville City Hall. You may recall this project is on the undeveloped land southeast of the intersection of the Pike and Edmonston Drive.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Legally-stymied self storage project seeks extension in Rockville

Siena Corporation is keeping its options open, should it find a legal recourse to force the City of Rockville to allow its approved self storage facility at 1175 Taft Street to go forward. The company has had no luck with either legal motion it has filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court so far.

By the time either motion reaches the end of the line in court, the approved site plan for the facility will expire. City staff is recommending the Planning Commission - which originally granted the approval, before the project was blocked by a Zoning Text Amendment forbidding self storage within 250 feet of a school (Maryvale Elementary School, in this case), passed by the Mayor and Council in February 2015 - approve the 1-year extension for the self storage project. The commission will take up the matter at its meeting tonight at 7:00 PM at City Hall.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Washington Property Co. acquires 2nd I-270 corridor office building, as CubeSmart opens (Photos)

Washington Property Company announced yesterday that it has acquired a second office building in the same I-270 corridor office park where it has just converted another one into a self-storage facility. That facility, under the CubeSmart brand, has just opened at 4 Research Place in Rockville.

WPC is more bullish on office space with the second building, 1 Research Court, which it and partner Alex. Brown Realty, Inc. plan to continue to operate as an office property. The partners acquired it for about $17 million. Built in 2001, the office building is 89% occupied by 14 tenants. WPC plans to upgrade the building's lobby, elevators, bathrooms and fitness center, to maintain its competitive edge in the market.

“We believe that our planned value-add improvements, along with a dearth of new supply, will increase this property’s appeal to small- and medium-sized businesses, including those in the life sciences," WPC principal Andrew Eshelman said in a statement yesterday. Life sciences and biotech are two bright spots in the moribund Montgomery County private sector economy, and the 270 corridor is the place to be for those industries.

CubeSmart is one of the top four self-storage brands in America, and space can be rented now either online, or by visiting the site in-person. If you've driven past on 270 recently, you've probably noticed the new building facade that faces the highway. The building has 715 climate-controlled storage units, and indoor, air-conditioned corridors to reach them.

Photos courtesy Washington Property Company

Friday, January 29, 2016

Mayor and Council to discuss pending Siena Corporation litigation in closed session Monday

Before Rockville banned self-storage facilities within 250' of schools last year, Siena Corporation's attorney threatened the City with legal action should it do so. The move by the Mayor and Council foiled construction of a Siena facility near Maryvale Elementary School in East Rockville, where residents organized to stop the project. Rockville's Planning Commission had previously concluded that there were no legal grounds upon which they could deny the EZ Storage application.

Now the Mayor and Council will receive legal advice on the matter in a closed Executive Session at 6:00 PM Monday night, February 1. The regular meeting schedule will follow at 7:00.

Also on the agenda, is a critical purchasing study report by an outside consulting firm that raised serious questions about procurement practices by the City last fall. The Calyptus consultant also outlined how implementation of his recommendations could potentially save the City up to $4.6 million.

But the report became controversial in the contentious run-up to last November's election, resulting in a split vote to delay implementation of the report, and a recommendation that the same presentation be delivered again to the newly-elected Mayor and Council. City Manager Barbara Matthews also indicated that she would need time to prepare herself and her staff to assume the oversight role over purchasing that the report suggests she take on.

A separate executive session at the end of Monday night's meeting will discuss the King Farm Farmstead.

Photo courtesy City of Rockville

Monday, October 12, 2015

New 3-story self-storage facility proposed in Rockville (Photos)

A parking lot next to a Strayer University building at 4 Research Place in Rockville is the site of a newly-proposed self-storage facility. While one might hope that a parking lot site in the I-270 corridor would be chosen for a corporate headquarters or research facility, this 3-story self storage building will likely be less controversial than the last one proposed in the city.

The applicant is planning an 87,000 SF self-storage facility with approximately 700 storage units. Located in an office park adjacent to the interstate, it will not be prevented by the 2015 city ban on such facilities within 250 feet of a school.

A second self-storage building is planned to be adjacent to this one, and both will share common office facilities. Erica Leatham, attorney for the applicant, says that the project will reduce the level of impervious surface on the site by about 20%.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

ROCKVILLE BANS SELF STORAGE FACILITIES WITHIN 250' OF SCHOOLS

"WORK THIS DAMN
THING OUT"

Rockville's Mayor and Council voted 3-2 to ban self storage facilities located within 250' of schools last night, an action that will stop Siena Corporation's already-approved facility at First and Taft Streets in East Rockville. 

Nearby residents, and parents of children at the adjacent Maryvale Elementary School, have expressed concerns about pedestrian safety, crime, fires and even homeland security concerns, as cited by federal officials. Materials used in the 1993 World Trade Center and 1995 Oklahoma City bombings were kept in self storage units prior to those attacks.

Councilmember Tom Moore and Siena attorney Bob Dalrymple were having none of it. Moore has repeatedly asked Council colleagues to specify the perceived dangers, relative to other potential uses of the industrial site. He sought to delay the vote 30-60 days, to allow Siena to enter negotiations with residents to attempt a compromise.

Dalrymple was eager to do so. He implored the Mayor and Council to bring the citizens to the negotiating table, tell them to act like adults, and "work this damn thing out."

Suddenly, all of the previous public testimony and petition signatures were seemingly
back on the table again.

But only Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr was willing to support Moore's work group proposal. The substitute motion failed 3-2. "This is where you lose me," Councilmember Virginia Onley said to Moore. She said the city is always free to participate in negotiations between an applicant and residents, but that it is not the city's place to create the group, or force residents to negotiate. Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton said, "it is not up to the city" to compel residents to enter negotiations. 

Dalrymple's performance proved ineffective. He reversed himself while pleading his case, initially asserting that Siena had never threatened to sue the city if it passed the ban. "It wasn't just you," Newton countered, but a second Siena attorney, as well. Siena's threats were reported by several media outlets, including the Gazette:

Asked after the discussion if Siena will pursue legal action if the measure is approved, Robert Dalrymple, an attorney representing the company, answered in one word: “Absolutely.”

"We're not going to roll over," Dalrymple answered, reversing his earlier claim.

At times, the vote took on the trappings of a public hearing. Residents testified that Siena has been "kicked out" of at least two communities where they had sought to build facilities, and that they had not been forthcoming about fire and crime incidents at their properties. "If you had done your homework, you would know this as well," one said to Moore. East Rockville resident Kashi Way said Dalrymple's sudden interest in negotiations was "a stalling tactic," noting that Siena could have arranged such negotiations weeks or months ago. "They had our addresses, they know where we live," Way said.

Dalrymple argued that there were really only 3 residents opposing the facility. "It's not just 3 people," Newton countered, noting the large number of petition signatures gathered, and turnout at public hearings in opposition to the proposal.

The ZTA passed 3-2, with Newton, Onley and Councilmember Beryl Feinberg voting for, and Moore and Palakovich Carr opposed.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

ROCKVILLE SELF STORAGE ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT HEADS TOWARD FINAL VOTE

School sign indicates Maryvale ES
is nearby proposed self storage site
at First and Taft Streets in Rockville
A zoning text amendment that could scuttle a planned self storage facility near Maryvale Elementary School in Rockville will be presented by staff to the Mayor and Council at their January 12 meeting, following a vote instructing staff to do so Monday evening. The ZTA would prohibit self storage facilities to be place within 250 feet of schools, which would disqualify the facility currently proposed by Siena Corporation on Taft Street.

Siena's attorney, Robert Dalrymple, has previously threatened legal action against the city, should his client's project be stopped. The ZTA appears almost certain to pass, as Mayor Bridget Newton, and Councilmembers Beryl Feinberg and Virginia Onley have spoken in support of it. Feinberg and Onley both stressed Monday evening that, in their view, the ZTA is not targeted toward the Siena project. But passage of the ZTA is the only thing standing in the way of Siena's plans, particularly after the Rockville Planning Commission ruled that there was no legitimate reason to deny the company's proposal last month.

Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr put great weight on the commission's ruling, quoting from each commissioner's remarks during the discussion. Councilmember Tom Moore concurred, saying that while he often disagrees with the commission, he thought the decision was significant. Both warned Monday evening of the potential legal and fiscal consequences passing the ZTA could hold for the city. Moore attempted to grill Feinberg for more detail on what specific data should give the city pause about the potential dangers a self storage facility would pose toward schools and residents. He read from a list of other possible uses for the Taft Street property, including fuel filling station, temporary carnival and adult-oriented establishment, arguing that several on the list posed greater dangers to children and pedestrians than self storage. The meeting grew contentious as Moore pressed Feinberg for specifics. Feinberg later returned the favor, demanding data to back up one of Moore's points, saying, "I'm gonna do to you what you do to me."

As the debate began to circle further into the night, Newton chided Moore, saying, "people don't know when to stop repeating themselves."

Moore offered an amendment to grandfather the Siena project, but it was defeated 3-2, with Newton, Feinberg and Onley opposed. Feinberg suggested making the buffer 500 feet, but withdrew her amendment after staff could not demonstrate advantages in the city requiring the added distance. A third amendment by Moore would have required the city to set aside $3 million dollars in FY2016 for legal fees, which he believed would face the city should the ZTA pass. That measure, too, failed, only drawing support from Palakovich Carr.

Newton said the matter was a public safety issue, which should take priority over fears of legal action. Feinberg concurred, saying, "I'm not going to be intimidated or succumb to fearmongering."

Ultimately, the Mayor and Council voted 3-2 to instruct city staff to draft a final ZTA, and present it at the January 12 Mayor and Council meeting. Moore, who said he is "deeply concerned" about the zoning action, and Palakovich Carr, who lives in East Rockville, were both opposed to the motion.
Photo: Google Maps

Thursday, December 11, 2014

PLANNING COMMISSION FINDS SELF-STORAGE ZTA QUESTIONABLE

The Rockville Planning Commission voted 5-1 Wednesday night to recommend the Mayor and Council drop a proposed Zoning Text Amendment regarding self storage businesses. Commissioner Charles Littlefield cast the lone dissenting vote.

Self Storage facilities have been a hot button issue in recent months, as neighbors of a potential such facility fought plans to build one near Maryvale Elementary School. The attorney representing that EZ Storage project, Bob Dalrymple, warned commissioners that his client would pursue other avenues if they approved of the ZTA.

The sense that the ZTA was targeting the EZ Storage project ultimately led to its dismissal by the commission. A majority of commissioners found that the ZTA was too narrowly targeted, was arbitrary, and did not provide an adequate public process to sort the matter out.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

APFO DISCUSSION, SELF-STORAGE ZTA, KING FARM ON ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA

Two current hot-button issues will come up during the next Rockville Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, December 10, at 7:00 PM. Commissioners and staff members Jim Wasilak and Deane Mellender will discuss the Adequate Public Facilities Standards changes proposed by the Mayor and Council. The commission will also take public testimony on a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) that would prohibit the construction of self-storage facilities on land within 250 feet of a public school.

This comes during a major controversy over an EZ-Storage facility that is proposed to be built near Maryvale Elementary School in Rockville.

Two townhome projects that would add a total of 129 housing units to King Farm will also be reviewed. Those project sites are located at 900 and 901 King Farm Boulevard.

The meeting will be held in the Mayor and Council chambers at City Hall, and also broadcast live on Channel 11.