Real estate development firm DealPoint Merrill LLC plans to convert a former Walmart store in Joliet, IL, into an 865-unit self-storage facility.
The Joliet City Council recently approved a special use permit for the conversion project (artist’s rendering at top). The 116,000-square-foot retail building, at 305 S. Larkin Ave., has been vacant for seven years.
DealPoint has tapped self-storage REIT CubeSmart to manage the facility, according to The Herald-News.
A purchase of the 13.4-acre site is pending, according to Wal-Mart Realty’s website. The list price is $2.6 million.
DealPoint recently has targeted several vacant retail properties for self-storage conversions, including a former Kmart store in Saginaw, MI.
Safeguard Self Storage
Safeguard Self Storage recently purchased land on Long Island, NY, for a self-storage facility.
Atlanta, GA-based Safeguard will build a 766-unit, 61,825-square-foot facility at 6000 Sunrise Highway in Massapequa, NY.
“The New York area is the company’s most important market, and this purchase will build on the company’s efforts to increase its critical mass there,” said Allan Sweet, CEO of Safeguard.
The Massapequa facility will be the company’s 27th location in the New York City metro area and its 73rd nationwide. The company has three other facilities under development in the New York market.
StorageMart
Columbia, MO-based StorageMart has purchased a former grocery store in Overland Park, KS, and plans to turn it into a self-storage facility.
The self-storage operator will renovate the former Hy-Vee grocery store at 6801 W. 91st St. and construct a second building on the 6-acre site to create 80,000 square feet of self-storage space. StorageMart expects to complete the project by the end of 2015.
The facility will be the company’s third property in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, MO.
Other notable projects
- Columbus, OH-based development firms Brexton LLC and Edward Companies have proposed a six-story self-storage facility in downtown Columbus. The 750-unit facility, called TriVillage Downtown Storage, will be at Long and Young streets. The project is within a major residential development being led by Edward Companies. The proposed facility, which will include a climate-controlled wine room, is set to open in 2015.
- Virginia Beach, VA-based commercial development firm Michael D. Sifen Inc. is seeking permission to build a 135,000-square-foot self-storage facility at 1975 Cunningham Drive in Hampton, VA. The 1.5-acre site features a vacant restaurant. Sifen received a recommendation of approval from city planning commissioners; the proposal now heads to the City Council for a final vote.
- A developer plans to build a self-storage facility at the site of a former lumberyard in Crystal Lake, IL. Pearl Street Commercial LLC wants to redevelop an existing 24,000-square-foot building at 2012 S. Virginia Road and construct nine storage buildings at the former Alexander Lumber property. Pearl Street says it will hire a third-party manager for the facility, which is scheduled to open in 2015. The Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a hearing on the project Jan. 7.
