Real estate developer Alfred Weissman Real Estate LLC received special-permit and revised site-plan approvals last week from the Pittsfield, Mass., Community Development Board for a planned self-storage project intended to revive the look of its Pittsfield Plaza retail center. The company plans to build a 40,000-square-foot storage facility on West Housatonic Street and also agreed to update the center’s facade and make other site improvements.

The self-storage facility will be constructed at the west end of the center and offer up to 400 indoor units. The company will likely reserve a section of unfinished space until it better understands customer preferences on unit size and “other factors,” Joseph Genzano, general counsel for Weissman, told the source.

Board member Louis Costi said he would not support the project unless it included an update to the center’s entire facade, and Genzano said that was part of Weissman’s plan. "We want people to see a place that is alive," he said.

The project also required a zoning amendment to allow indoor self-storage units in commercial zones with a special permit, according to the source. Weissman received preliminary zoning approval last December and wants to begin the storage project this spring.

The company has spent months looking for ways to revive the retail center and proposed the self-storage facility last August. Weissman purchased the 51-year-old center six years ago for $2.8 million. The shopping center encompasses 13.8 acres.

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