September 21, 2018

4 Min Read
Metro Self Storage Begins Construction on Westhampton Beach, NY, Facility

Update 9/20/18 – Metro has begun construction on its facility in Westhampton Beach, N.Y. Once complete, it’ll be the company’s fifth location in the state and the largest commercial structure in the village, according to a source.

“We’re excited to add another store in the New York market,” said Martin Gallagher, president. “This facility is in a great location in an exceptional community.”

The project is being developed through Metro’s partnership with Fremont Realty Capital, the real estate merchant-banking arm of Fremont Group. The companies have completed several projects this year, including the conversion of a former lawn and garden shop in North Plainfield, N.J., and storage facilities in Addison and Naperville, Ill.

11/7/16 –The Westhampton Beach Village Board unanimously voted on Nov. 3 to change the way the municipality calculates building fees for structures larger than 20,000 square feet. Trustee Brian Tymann was absent from the meeting, and no residents addressed the board prior to the vote.

With the modification, Metro Self Storage will now pay about $45,000 for its building permits, which is less than a quarter of what would have been charged under the old system, according to the source.

“The purpose of the building permit is not to generate revenue for the village but to offset expenses,” said village attorney Anthony Pasca during the public hearing. “There was just no rationale behind charging so much.”

Under the revised law, the village will charge $75 per square foot for buildings larger than 20,000 square feet, and $6 for every $1,000 of a building’s estimated cost, the source reported. The modification won’t impact other future building applications in the village.

10/27/16 –A proposed Metro Self Storage development in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., has village officials reconsidering its building-permit fees for large structures. Metro is seeking to build a three-story, 100,000-square foot facility on a 2.6-acre flag lot on the west side of Old Riverhead Road. Owned by Self Storage Westhampton LLC, the site is east of the Westhampton train station and near Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5350. Metro paid $3.5 million in cash for the property.

Under the village’s current fee formula, Metro would pay $210,000 for the required permits due to the size of the building, according to the source. Members of the Westhampton Beach Village Planning Board are considering a modification to the municipality’s fee schedule to make the project more feasible. Officials said they don’t expect an application for a development project of this size to be filed again due to the lack of suitable sites in the village. The largest commercial building in the area is a 30,000-square-foot Best Yet supermarket on Sunset Avenue.

“It is not normal for a building to go over 15,000 to 20,000 square feet,” said Paul Houlihan, administrator for Westhampton Beach Building and Zoning. “So our fee schedule wasn’t geared for this large of a building.”

Under the current code, a building’s estimated value is determined by multiplying the number of proposed square feet by $250 if it measures less than 5,000 square feet or $350 if it’s larger than 5,000 square feet, the source reported. A new ordinance would create separate fee schedules based on square footage. A charge of $75 per square foot would be issued for buildings larger than 20,000 square feet. The village would then tack on $6 for every $1,000 of a building’s estimated cost.

Metro’s proposed project has a valuation of $35 million under the existing code. The restructured permitting schedule would reduce the value to $7.5 million and require the company to pay about $45,000 in processing fees, the source reported.

“With our fee schedule open-ended the way it is, with the mini-storage building going three stories high and 100,000 square feet [in size], it came up to a crazy amount of money. It does not accurately reflect what the cost of the building is,” said Houlihan, adding the change wouldn’t impact other buildings. “Everything else is remaining the same.”

The planning board will hold a public hearing on Nov. 3 to discuss the fee schedule. Board members will vote on the issue following the hearing.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., Metro Storage is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate operating company specializing in the acquisition, development and management of self-storage facilities nationwide. Its facilities comprise more than 8.1 million square feet of storage space.

Sources:

27East.com, Storage Facility on The Way in Westhampton Beach
27East.com, Westhampton Beach Village Signs Off On Building Permit Fee Schedule Modifications
27East.com, Application For New Storage Building Prompts Review Of Westhampton Beach's Permitting Fees
Long Island Business News, Storage Firm Buys Westhampton Beach Site

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