Did COVID kill the cinema star?
It seems to be the case in the Upper East Side, where the former CMX Cinemas could soon become a storage unit complex. There has been a movie theater on the site since 1991, the latest iteration opening in 2018. After shutting down for COVID, the box office never reopened.
Manhattan Mini Storage plans to take over the building, and convert it to 65,000 square feet of self-storage space. The operation will fold in with the company’s existing facility at 420 E. 62nd St. The theater is at 400 E. 62nd St. The six-level project will create 1,200 climate-controlled units by 2024. The expansion will include two industrial-grade elevators and fully enclosed loading bays. Source: PR Newswire
Under construction
In Florida, a Lake Mary-based developer is breaking ground on two self-storage sites. Flagship Companies Group, in a joint venture with Blue Vista Capital Management, has broken ground on a 702-unit facility in Land O’Lakes (above) and a 660-unit facility in Cocoa. The joint venture garnered a $10.5 million loan from American Momentum Bank for the Land O’Lakes site, and an $8.5 million loan – also from American Momentum Bank – for the Cocoa facility at 385 W. King St. It will have 660 climate-controlled units spread across 75,156 square feet. Construction is scheduled to end in April 2024. The Land O’Lakes facility will have 632 climate-controlled units and 70 non-climate-controlled units at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Swans Landing Drive. It’s expected to be completed in May 2024. Life Storage will run both facilities. Source: Patch.com
Completed
MV Investment opened a new self-storage facility at 5234 Raeford Road in Fayetteville, NC, on April 1. It has 105,000 gross square feet spread across 808 climate-controlled units. MV Investment is based in Cincinnati. Source: MV Investment
Legislative
The Ohio city of Ravenna has imposed a temporary moratorium on building self-storage facilities. Meanwhile, officials will consider changing the city’s zoning regulations. The freeze won’t apply to any that already had been approved, and no new requests are pending. The city has been getting calls from people wanting to place units on vacant parcels in town. Source: Ravenna Courier
Prince George’s County in Maryland passed a bill to limit future storage facilities to industrial zones in the county. This follows months of compromise and discussion that led to the grandfathering in those facilities currently being built. Source: WTOP News
The Benton City Council placed a one-year moratorium on building mini self-storage units within the city of Benton, AR effective immediately. An amendment grandfathered in all mini-storage developments that already submitted applications. Source: Benton Courier
Developer Hugh Scott has asked the zoning commission for a one-month delay until late April so he can make changes in his plan to build a self-storage facility on Madison Avenue in Bridgeport, CT. The facility would go on the site of a long-gone Stop & Shop. Opponents of the proposal prefer that affordable senior housing go in there. This would be his second delay; he was supposed to go before the zoning board in February. Source: CT Post
