Update 8/31/17 – Dymon Storage received approval this month to convert the former Target in Oshawa to a mixed-use facility that will include drive-in self-storage and retail space. Although several uses were allowed on the site, including retail and condominiums, a zoning amendment was required for the self-storage development.
6/21/17 – Canadian self-storage operator Dymon Storage Corp. is seeking a zoning change to convert a former Target store in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, to a mixed-use property that will include self-storage and retail space. The city’s development-services committee discussed the proposal for the property at 285 Taunton Road E. during a June 19 meeting, according to the source. Dymon has also requested to raise the roof of the building by a meter. Target vacated the site in 2015.
The property is part of the Five Points Shopping Centre and currently zoned for commercial use, including retail and restaurants, but not self-storage. The zoning request will now be forwarded to the city staff for recommendation. If approved, Dymon hopes to open the facility in March, the source reported.
As proposed, the two-story building will comprise 173,000 square feet of space, including 38,000 square feet for retail and restaurants. The storage facility will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and contain about 1,000 climate-controlled units. The site will also offer conference rooms, parcel services and safety-deposit boxes for rent. The loading/unloading area will be on the interior.
“Everything about Dymon happens in the interior of the building … there are no garage doors facing out to the street,” said Bliss Edwards, senior director of planning, who appeared before the committee.
The Five Points Shopping Centre is also undergoing major renovations. Owner RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust is demolishing a portion of the mall’s interior to make way for a new, open-air retail complex. Several existing tenants will be moved to a new location under construction on the same property, the source reported.
Dymon currently has nine self-storage facilities in Ottawa as well as five sites in the planning phase, the source reported. “We aim to have 80 locations in the [Greater Toronto Area], which means in a community the size of Oshawa, we would likely have three to four locations,” Edwards said.
Founded in 2006, Dymon is a green company and the largest private provider of solar power in Ottawa, according to the source.
