After several months of continuances, Jumbo Self Storage LLC received approval this week to build a five-story facility in Burlington, Mass. The 11-acre isolated property is off Blanchard and Wheeler Roads. The plans call for 119,523 square feet of storage space in about 1,000 units. The facility will also include 12 parking spots, three of which will be in the basement of the building, according to the source.

The parcel is within the Aquifer Overlay District, which had been previously used to store construction equipment and related debris. Jumbo worked with the Burlington Conservation Commission to resolve the property’s issues, according to Robert Buckley, an attorney with Riemer & Braunstein LLP who represented Jumbo during the planning meeting. The changes included adding a rain garden, moving the grading out of the riverfront and creating a 20-foot setback. A landscape buffer that includes 387 shrubs and 31 trees will also be added.

During the meeting, the planners and developer also discussed storm-water drainage improvements for the site. Jumbo will increase the property’s flood-storage infrastructure from 35,000 to 37,000 cubic feet to reduce peak flows to the existing creek on the property. The facility will also be 20 feet off the ground, with support pillars to accommodate the site’s grades and flood storage, the source reported.

The planners also requested lowering the building height by 4 feet. It’ll resemble an office building with horizontal panels, glass windows, and additional banding and striping on the structure’s corners.

Although the planners expressed concern about the number of customers who would visit the property, a representative from Jumbo assured the members that the typical person visits a unit once every six months, with an average stay of about 15 minutes. “The trips are so infrequent and short that the traffic impact may go from three cars to four on a bad day,” said the representative.

Jumbo is also building a self-storage facility in Quincy, Mass. The four-story Quincy Self Storage will feature 125,000 square feet of storage space. The first floor will house sales and administrative offices, while the upper floors will contain 1,150 climate-controlled storage units.

Jumbo Self Storage is led by Howard Hirsh, partner, and Jay Hirsh, managing partner and co-founder, of Jumbo Capital Management LLC, a privately held commercial real estate firm specializing in office space. The company made its first foray into the self-storage market in 2015 with the acquisition of a warehouse in Norwood, Mass., that it converted to storage.

Source:
Daily Times Chronicle, Self-Storage Proposal OK’d