Dashs Markets Gets Planning Approval for Self-Storage Conversion Project in Buffalo, NY

Update 11/4/15 – After a year of deliberation and public opposition, the Buffalo Planning Board has approved the Dash’s Markets self-storage conversion project on Kenmore Avenue. Common council member Rasheed Wyatt threw his support behind the project after Joe Dash and his attorney met with the local neighborhood group to answer questions and resolve concerns, according to the source.

“We’ve had so many meetings on this, I’m meeting-ed out,” Wyatt said. “We’ve done all we can do on this project. It’s not the grocery store they wanted, but it’s a good project.”

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9/23/15 – The Buffalo Planning Board has postponed its vote on the Dash’s Markets self-storage conversion project while it awaits the conclusion of an Erie County review and another neighborhood meeting regarding the proposal, according to the source. The board is now scheduled to vote on the Kenmore Avenue project on Oct. 6.

The $2 million project would convert the 53,000-square-foot former grocery store into self-storage and add a 26,000-square-foot second story, the source reported.

Joe Dash indicated further delays on the project are costly. “Every month I am looking at $25,000 to $30,000 in carrying costs,” Dash said.

Some University Heights residents are still lamenting the loss of their neighborhood market, but Dash’s is determined to see the self-storage project through. “Joe Dash has gone the extra mile,” Palumbo told the source, referring to project alterations made to quell community concerns. “The issue seems to be the use of the building. This is not going to be a food store. We’re beyond that.”

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9/14/15 – Representatives from Dash’s Markets are expected to present the revised plan for the company’s self-storage conversion project on Kenmore Avenue to the Buffalo Planning Board. The board will consider a site plan review on Sept. 22, according to the source.

There is speculation the project could be branded as Uncle Bob’s Self Storage, the trade name operated by real estate investment trust (REIT) Sovran Self Storage Inc., the source reported. The REIT operates more than 500 facilities in 25 states.

The revised plan, which restricts storage units to the interior of the building, is expected to generate much more residential support than the original design, according to the source.

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6/2/15 – The Buffalo Zoning Board reversed course last week and approved a zoning variance allowing Joe Dash to convert the former grocery store on Kenmore Avenue into self-storage. Board members changed their mind after reviewing a revised design for the project, which still must be approved by the planning board, according to the source.

The new design features more brick on the building and added green space to serve as a buffer between the structure and the street, which will help the facility blend in with the surrounding neighborhood, Palumbo told city officials. “Brick columns run the entire length of the Kenmore Avenue frontage. We’ve added extensive buffering to the site,” he said. “We believe we have blended the building into the neighborhood. It’s a building that is far better than was presented in the first instance.”

The zoning board also approved a six-foot fence that will run along Kenmore Avenue. Three acres of the current parking lot will be set aside for a future mixed-use development, the source reported.

“We’ve done everything in our power to redevelop the property to be the best-looking piece of real estate on all of Kenmore Avenue,” Dash told the source.

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4/24/15 – The Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously rejected the Dash’s Markets proposal to convert one of its former grocery stores into self-storage. Board members voted 3-0 against the plan in an effort to preserve the retail-commercial environment in that portion of the neighborhood, according to the source.

The board ultimately sided with residents who opposed the plan, despite a reversal by the University Heights Collaborative (UHC), a neighborhood group which initially held strong opposition to the conversion. UHC recently voted to support the project after Dash’s owner Joe Dash agreed to restrict the self-storage operation to the interior of the existing building. A decision on the outdoor space would have been made at a later date, the source reported.

“The applicant worked closely with the community to create a development plan responsive to community concerns,” said Corey A. Auerbach, an attorney representing Dash’s. “The applicant remains committed to bringing a productive redevelopment to the site and will work with the community and the city.”

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4/20/15 – The Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday will discuss the rezoning request submitted by Dash’s Markets to convert its closed grocery store on Kenmore Avenue into self-storage.

Dash’s purchased the former Budwey’s Market last year, operating it under the Dash’s brand for just a few months before opting to close it. The self-storage project has stirred controversy among residents who would prefer Dash’s re-open the building as a supermarket or sell it to another grocery retailer.

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2/26/15 – Public opposition to the proposed self-storage development by Dash’s Markets continued to mount during the first formal hearing on the matter held by the Buffalo Common Council.

One resident called the project “an abomination,” while neighbor Joe Schmidbauer characterized self-storage as a free-for-all with little supervision over stored contents. “Storage facilities are not these kind of clean operations where people come and store their furniture,” he said. “It becomes a kind of a ‘free fire zone’ because there is no real clear supervision at what goes into those storages.”

Corey Auerbach, an attorney representing Dash’s, argued the company’s redevelopment proposal was a viable option and “more beneficial than a vacant property.”

Rosline Righetti, vice president of the Merrimac Street Block Club, a neighborhood group, said she had spoken to business owners interested in turning the Dash’s parcel into a retail strip mall. However, attorney Jeffrey Palumbo, representing Dash’s owner Joe Dash, said there isn’t enough interest for other business options.

After the hearing, Palumbo indicated Dash would pursue his rezoning application to change the use of the property to allow self-storage, according to the source.

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2/16/2015 – The proposed self-storage development continues to face opposition from residents and may need a zoning variance to be built. The University Heights Collaborative (UHC), held a meeting on Feb. 10 to allow residents to discuss alternatives for the site. The organization is also acting as a facilitator for a petition that’s being circulated against the self-storage development. UHC has said it’s not taking a side on the issue, the source reported.

Residents are concerned the storage facility will attract crime and detract from other businesses in the area, according to the source.

“There is urban decay along Kenmore and Englewood—a storage facility would not improve that area,” Joe Schmidbauer, a UHC member, told the source. “Storage facilities can become a place for black-market transactions or a drop site.”

Community members who attended the meeting this week offered alternative uses for the site, including developing only part of the land, pursuing other grocery stores, or giving a parcel to the community for gardening or farming, the source reported. Dash’s Markets owner Joe Dash didn’t attend the UHC meeting. The ideas were sent to his representatives, the source reported.

Dash met with UHC members on Feb. 3 to discuss their concerns, the source reported. Darren Cotton, UHC vice president, said Dash told them during the meeting that self-storage was the only commercially viable use for the land. He also said he hasn’t received any offers from buyers who are looking to reopen the building as a grocery store, the source reported.

UHC members are looking at the area’s current zoning to determine if self-storage would be permitted, the source reported. The Buffalo Common Council has a public hearing scheduled for Feb. 24. It’s unknown at this time if the self-storage development will be on the agenda.

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11/13/2014 – Dash’s Markets Inc., a New York-based grocery retailer, has submitted a proposal to convert one of its properties in Buffalo, N.Y., to self-storage. The company’s plan to convert the former Budwey’s Supermarket on Kenmore Avenue to indoor, climate-controlled units and add seven storage buildings on the existing parking lot has received opposition from local residents.

Dash’s presented its proposal this week to the University Heights Collaborative, a neighborhood group. Residents have said they would prefer the building remain a grocery store, with some calling the self-storage plan “the worst idea ever” on social media, according to the source.

“We did a study and found there was a need for outside storage in the area,” Mark Mahoney, director of operations for Dash’s, told the source.

Dash’s acquired Budwey’s last year and operated it under the company’s brand for a while before submitting a plan to convert it to a specialty Italian market. The store closed for renovations in May, and in July, Dash’s said it would not reopen the location as a supermarket, the source reported.

Dash’s believes the site is no longer viable for a grocery market because the Department of Transportation has plans to reconstruct roads near the store between April and October next year, Mahoney told the source. The road project will significantly limit traffic to the site, he said.

Dash’s operates four grocery stores in New York including two in the Buffalo area.