Residents Oppose Proposed Self-Storage Facility in Chesapeake, VA

Mini Price Storage, a Virginia-based self-storage operator, intends to build a multi-story facility on a property in the Western Branch community of Chesapeake, Va., but residents appear to oppose the project. The development would require a zoning change from the McDonald Garden Center nursery, which is closing in July, according to the source.

"We're at a critical time right now in this community—a critical time as far as growth,” resident Alison Anderson told the source. “And a storage unit is not going to help us entice other businesses to come here."

Anderson would prefer a café, while other residents have said they’d like to see another retail business at the site. "We don't have a lot left here in Western Branch,” resident Janet Lilley, told the source. “We have to go either East or West to find what we need as far as shopping. We have enough storage facilities in the area."

Several stores have left the nearby Chesapeake Square Mall, according to the source. McDonald Garden Center, which has two other locations, cited poor sales as the reason for closing the nursery at 3925 Portsmouth Blvd.

General contractor Sifen Cos. recently held a meeting with homeowners to discuss the project, and a future meeting will include the developer and a land-use attorney, the source reported.

Mini Price Storage operates several self-storage facilities in Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Midlothian, Norfolk, Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va.

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