Storage Center Proposed For Murray Hill's First Block

[Captain Zissou]

Sorry, you lost me at zoning.  However, I do think I am looking at things holistically.  Your contention seems to be that Murray Hill should focus on attracting people from outside Murray Hill.  I think first and foremost, Murray Hill businesses should cater to the needs of local Murray Hill residents.  The nearest storage facilities are on Lane Ave and downtown.  Given the smaller home sizes and most of them either having a 1 car garage, or in most cases, no garage I got to suspect that most area residents are in favor of it (or don't care).

There's a brand new storage facility on Edison by the I-95 and I-10 interchange. And another one at Myrtle and Forest. And an older one on Highway Ave near Edgewood.

Come on, Kerry.  You could have seen two of these from your old apartment.  Do better.

[Steve]

When I see a post from Kerry I think of this clip from Airplane:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn0WdJx-Wkw

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

This project has potential to extend the commercial corridor down Plymouth all the way to the little strip that has 5-Star, a salon, some other stuff and whatever bar is there now with proper development. 

A large building there without any street level activity is no different than the parking lot that's there now.  And could exponentially make it worse depending on the final design.  I'm not even against a storage facility.  The neighborhood could actually use one a little closer due to the amount of small bungalows and rental properties in general, but that doesn't mean that you can't design a building that has storage on the 2nd/3rd floor and storefronts at street level.

And I think that's where a lot of people are getting all twisted up - the images circulating are of your typical box, glass storage facility, and that might be the plan, but the fact that it's a new building means that they're not limited to fitting something into a shell.

I've been trying to approach this with a view of 'what else would be a better option', and my biggest issue is that I personally can't think of any alternative ideas that I feel would flourish. 

[thelakelander]

This project has potential to extend the commercial corridor down Plymouth all the way to the little strip that has 5-Star, a salon, some other stuff and whatever bar is there now with proper development. 

A large building there without any street level activity is no different than the parking lot that's there now.  And could exponentially make it worse depending on the final design.  I'm not even against a storage facility.  The neighborhood could actually use one a little closer due to the amount of small bungalows and rental properties in general, but that doesn't mean that you can't design a building that has storage on the 2nd/3rd floor and storefronts at street level.

Bingo! Mixed-use storage centers are actually a thing now. This one is going up in Downtown Orlando right now. I may try and take a few pics on Sunday.

My Neighborhood Storage Center



Location: Southeast corner of Magnolia Avenue and Colonial Drive

Developer: Orlando-based Liberty Investment Properties Inc.

Cost: $20 million

Retail size: 12,000 square feet below a 92,000-square-foot storage center

Tenants: No leases signed

Status: Project groundbreaking was in late February; it’s expected to wrap up before year’s end.

Full article: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/02/26/construction-update-3-downtown-orlando-retail.html

[thelakelander]

Some more examples:






http://www.bowdoinconstruction.com/projects/rr-c-shops-at-300-needham-street

[marcuscnelson]

Mixed-use storage centers are actually a thing now.

Well, I'll be… Must be the suburbanite in me, but I never considered this a thing that actually happens. That's pretty impressive.

[vicupstate]

https://sc-greenville.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/4838?fileID=20347

Basement: interior parking
Ground foor: retail and co-work space
Top floor: rooftop event venue.
Middle floors: self-storage.

See this earlier post for the full plans of a mixed use with storage included.

[JeffreyS]

How much would upgrading the train crossing to the silent version ost? I would love to see a hotel there.

[Kerry]

Sorry, you lost me at zoning.  However, I do think I am looking at things holistically.  Your contention seems to be that Murray Hill should focus on attracting people from outside Murray Hill.  I think first and foremost, Murray Hill businesses should cater to the needs of local Murray Hill residents.  The nearest storage facilities are on Lane Ave and downtown.  Given the smaller home sizes and most of them either having a 1 car garage, or in most cases, no garage I got to suspect that most area residents are in favor of it (or don't care).

There's a brand new storage facility on Edison by the I-95 and I-10 interchange. And another one at Myrtle and Forest. And an older one on Highway Ave near Edgewood.

Come on, Kerry.  You could have seen two of these from your old apartment.  Do better.

Yea, they are downtown like I said.  Brooklyn is part of downtown but grated the other is across I-95 from downtown by about 1000 feet.

If they could include ground floor retail with the storage unit then great.  That would fall under my "Make it the best darn storage facility in Jax" option.

[Steve]

How much would upgrading the train crossing to the silent version ost? I would love to see a hotel there.

If not then this would happen every morning at a hotel

[Florida Power And Light]

Wait, is Self-Storage a permitted use there? If so, HUGE blunder by COJ's planning department. That will make it tougher for the opposition, but there are a few arguments to be made to deny the deviations. Based on a cursory review of the site plan and deviations, I can think of a good one. Is there a staff report yet?

The City would be much better served eliminating any regulation of usage, and just regulate the physical structure.  The deviations such as reducing the setbacks, reduction in off-street parking requirements, the addition of on-street parking, and reserving space on the lot for future development along Edgewood are all good and should be encouraged everywhere.  To be honest, I'm not really understanding why this would even be opposed.

Long blank walls aren't condusive to walkability or urban design. My expectation is the 'future development' = 'more self storage'. They own the land and that is the business they are in.

Long blank walls fall under the realm of regulating the physical structure.  Just because it is a storage facility doesn't mean it has to have long blank walls.  When they built the storage facility in Brooklyn they wanted to put the retail component against I-95.  I asked them to move it to the corner and they did.  That made a significant improvement.  Also, the long blank wall isn't along Edgewood, it is along Plymouth and fronts railroad tracks, an off ramp, and the elevated over-pass of US19.  And what is there now is essentially a large blank wall and poorly executed sidewalk.

As for what they have in mind for 'future development', who knows but at least they are keeping it open for now.  If the future is more storage then we can have that battle then.

So glad I moved out of Murray Hill when I sensed the time would come to do so/not worth the drama,not worth engaging neighbors poorly versed on City Land Use intricacy.
Go for it

[Florida Power And Light]

Great to know Murray Hill is a Thing,Now

[copperfiend]

Who is going tonight. Sounds like they are expecting a big crowd. It is a shame it could not be in a bigger venue.

I saw this on News4Jax. I wonder what exactly he means by this.

He (Steve Orman, the commercial broker whose company is overseeing the project) adds there are misconceptions about the project and he’s hoping to clear them up at Monday's meeting.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/jacksonville/murray-hill-storage-wars-heats-up-monday

What misconceptions??

[fieldafm]

Who is going tonight. Sounds like they are expecting a big crowd. It is a shame it could not be in a bigger venue.

I saw this on News4Jax. I wonder what exactly he means by this.

He (Steve Orman, the commercial broker whose company is overseeing the project) adds there are misconceptions about the project and he’s hoping to clear them up at Monday's meeting.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/jacksonville/murray-hill-storage-wars-heats-up-monday

What misconceptions??

The biggest misconception... and by a wide margin... is the claim going around that Trader Joes wanted to put a grocery story in this location, and the owner instead chose to sell to a developer of a storage unit facility.

[JeffreyS]

Definitely push for project improvement such as aggressive mixed use.