Former Sports Center to Be Converted to Self-Storage in Nashua, NH

Real estate developer Montello St. LLC received the green light last week from the Nashua, N.H., Planning Board to convert the former Nashua Athletic Club to self-storage. The board approved an amended site plan for the property at 596 W. Hollis St., which was listed on the market for approximately $2 million when the fitness center closed in 2014, according to the source.

The 4-acre property includes a 24,000-square-foot building constructed in 1972. The site, which most recently operated as IM Modern Fitness, features an aerobic room, locker area, lounge, massage room, nursery, racquetball courts and two training rooms. It’s accessed from a private road and abuts the Ledgewood Hills Condominiums.

In addition to an interior retrofit, the building’s exterior will be repainted and a new HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning unit will be installed. The developer also plans to construct storage units around the perimeter of the building, Gerald Prunier, the attorney representing Montello, told the planning board during a Jan. 14 meeting. Montello revised its site plans to include permanent rather than portable storage around the exterior after neighbors expressed their concerns.

Prunier met with residents to address other issues, which included noise, security and the removal of the building’s exterior ledge. Resident Roy Williams told the board he hoped the new HVAC unit was quieter than the previous one, arguing the system violated noise regulations, the source reported. Rob Gervais, who owns a garage near the athletic center, expressed concerns about damage to his property when the building’s ledge is removed.

The facility will have an access gate with keypad entry at the primary entrance as well as a secondary gate near the northern corner of the building, according to Tom Burns of engineering firm TFMoran. Customers will be able to use their individual key codes only during business hours, Burns told board members.