Warrenton green lights new storage facility

By: Adam Rollins, Staff Writer
Posted 12/26/20

The city of Warrenton will soon be home to an additional storage facility, oriented toward serving the needs of local small businesses.

Warrenton’s Board of Aldermen on Dec. 15 unanimously …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Warrenton green lights new storage facility

Posted

The city of Warrenton will soon be home to an additional storage facility, oriented toward serving the needs of local small businesses.

Warrenton’s Board of Aldermen on Dec. 15 unanimously approved a series of applications from Best Box Storage to establish a facility on Highway AA, just north of the North Service Road intersection. Approvals included a conditional use permit and site plan for the business, along rezoning a portion of land from industrial to commercial use.

Best Box owner and developer Beau Reinberg told aldermen that his facility will cater to the needs of small businesses by providing larger storage units.

“Our unit mix is 10-by-30 feet, 10-by-40 feet, which is used a lot by small businesses,” Reinberg said. “While we certainly do attract residential customers, we ... are really catered toward that small business, commercial corridor-type customer.”

Reinberg said Best Box altered its original site plan at the request of city officials, to leave a block of land clear for future retail development along the North Service Road. He said he hopes future businesses there will become his storage customers.

“Leaving that lot in the front open for commercial retail uses in the future, we feel not only does it align with the city’s goals, it aligns with the type of facilities we build, and the customers we look to attract,” Reinberg explained.

Project engineer Kris Wolfe said the storage facility will occupy about 3.5 acres of land, with six long storage buildings. The site is adjacent to the future location of the Creekside Apartment complex on the North Service Road, which the board of aldermen approved earlier this year. Wolfe said the two developments will share stormwater drainage capacity, and will have a tree buffer maintained between them.

Warrenton City Attorney Christopher Graville outlined some of the requirements attached to the approval of the Best Box storage facility. Along with utility and stormwater installations, Graville said all lights at the facility must be directed away from nearby homes and roadways. Best Box will also have to pay a fee into the city’s sidewalk construction fund.

Although developers are normally given a choice between paying the sidewalk fee or just building their own sidewalk, Graville said in this case construction isn’t yet feasible because of the topography along Highway AA.

“City staff went out and looked, and it is not practical at this point in time to put sidewalks along that stretch of Highway AA,” Graville said.

Alderman Gary Auch, Ward 2, said the development will be positive for Warrenton, and complimented that it won’t disturb many trees along an adjacent creek.

“I’m personally very pleased with how the owners ... have approached the land, keeping so much green space. I think it’s going to be something that we as a community can take great pride in,” Auch said.

Warrenton Board of Aldermen

X