Phoenix Partners LLC received zoning approval last week to convert a former Kmart store in Roanoke, Va., to interior, climate-controlled self-storage. The 84,000-square-foot building on Franklin Road closed last year, according to the source.
During the Aug. 8 hearing, attorney Cooper Youell, who represented the developer, said the firm originally purchased the 1970s structure to create a grocery store or big-box retail space. It soon learned potential tenants weren’t interested in these uses due to limited market growth in the area, competition with online sales, and the orientation of the building, which doesn’t face Franklin Road.Phoenix Partners plans to relocate the main entrance, update the façade and add new landscaping.
About a third of the 11-acre parcel could be used for outparcel development, the source reported. Prior to the vote, Barbara Duerk, president of Neighbors in South Roanoke Inc., asked the developer to collaborate on a plan for the outparcels.
Phoenix Partners is led by B. Painter, Bland Painter and Joe Thompson, the source reported.
Source:
The Roanoke Times, Permit OK'd to Convert Former Roanoke Kmart Into Indoor Self-Storage Facility
