A three-story Space Shop Self Storage facility will soon replace a blighted strip mall at 2520 Spring Road in Smyrna, Ga., following approval from the city council. The developer, an LLC with the same name as the property address, will build 109,635 square feet of storage and 4,260 square feet of office and retail space on the 2.7-acre site, which formerly housed a Hispanic grocery market and a percussion store. Construction is expected to begin within a month, according to the source.

The property is less than a mile from SunTrust Park, which is home to the Atlanta Braves. “It’s going to be a good-looking product, and I can’t wait for that building to go away,” said councilmember Derek Norton. “When they first brought this idea to us, we were a little lukewarm. We wanted a restaurant, maybe some more retail. They tried to assemble some properties next to this, unsuccessfully. They’re dealing with an elevation change, and there are all kinds of challenges with that property. They’ve done everything we’ve asked, including the addition of retail and repositioning the building.”

Maryline Blackburn was the lone dissenter in the 5-1 vote. “It’s a prime piece of real estate, and you’ve got 330,000-plus cars going by there every day. In my opinion, it has a better use for something more than a storage unit,” she said during the council meeting. “We have a storage unit already that’s almost a block and a half away from there, behind the QuikTrip gas station. We don’t need another storage unit; we need something that’s going to be more attractive to the citizens coming into our city.”

Senior planner Rusty Martin noted the storage facility will generate as few as six car trips per day and have just 33 parking spaces compared to 80, which is normally required for a building of its size.

“This is a good use of this property and gets rid of an eyesore,” said Doug Dillard, an attorney representing the developer.

Space Shop operates nine self-storage facilities in the Atlanta market and one in Goose Creek, S.C.

Sources:
AJC, Smyrna Council Approves Self-Storage Facility
Cobb County Courier, Self-Storage Facility to Replace Blighted Retail Strip in Smyrna