By Barbara A. Preston | Posted August 31, 2023 — Updated November 27, 2023 at 5 pm.
A Brooklyn-based developer proposes to build two self-storage warehouses surrounded by a chain-link fence near the corner of routes 518 and 206, behind Wawa. The location is one of the gateways to Montgomery Township.
The Montgomery Zoning Board of Adjustment plans to hold a public hearing in the Montgomery Municipal Building on Tuesday, January 23. The meeting had been scheduled for November 28. The proposal needs multiple variances.
The largest building would be three stories high with 123,259 square feet of self-storage space, and a drive-through lane on the first floor. The other building would be one story with 9,907 square feet of storage space and a drive-up lane.
An architect's rending of two self-storage warehouses proposed for the Montgomery Township gateway, near the corner of Routes 206 and 518. The exterior would feature horizontal ribbed metal siding and block brink.
Renard Management of Mahopac, New York and Yonkers 300 LLC of Red Bank, NJ owned by Dino Tomassetti, Jr. of Brooklyn, have made an application to the Montgomery Township Zoning Board for multiple variances needed in order to construct the project. It is bordered by single-family homes in Rocky Hill Borough to the east, a Wawa convenience store to the west, the ShopRite shopping center to the north, and Route 518 to the south.
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Tomassetti's company, Asset Realty & Construction Group (doing business as Yonkers 300 LLC), bought the three-acre property for $2.6 million in October 2022. The group manages a substantial portfolio of real estate assets across a broad range of sectors, including self storage.
The property had included a dilapidated, abandoned office building on a remedied Super Fund site. The applicant demolished the dilapidated building that existed on the site. "The use of the property and layout is restricted by on-site monitoring wells that are under federal jurisdiction," according the application. "The proposed self-storage facility seeks to make efficient use of the property."
The former abandoned office building at 1026 Route 518 in Montgomery Township.
The property is located in Montgomery Township's highway commercial zoning district ("H Zone"), which does not include self-storage units as a permitted use. The applicant would need the Montgomery Zoning Board to grant the following variances: a D(1) use variance to allow a self storage facility on the property; a D(6) variance it order to exceed the permitted maximum building height. The property owner proposes a 42.5 feet (three stories) building, where 30 feet (2.5 stories) are permitted.
Further, a D(4) Floor-area ration (FAR) variance is required as the proposed 1.02 far exceeds the .2 permitted in the zone.
In order to obtain D-level hardship variances, the owner must prove to the zoning board that the property cannot reasonably be adapted to a conforming use.
In addition, the applicant seeks several C-level variances asking the zoning board to allow the developer to exceed the maximum lot coverage. The township zoning code allows a commercial building on this site to cover 55 percent of the property, the developers wants to cover 58.8 percent.
Furthermore, the township code states that no building in an HC Zone may exceed 50,000 square feet. The proposed self-storage buildings total 130,158 square feet.
The application summary notes: "The property has been vacant for many years, with a partially collapsed [office building]. The property is challenged by prior environmental issues and monitoring wells. Since the recent purchase, the applicant seeks approvals to restore active use of the property for the first time in decades."
The first floor of the larger warehouse has a drive- thru, an office, and multiple storage units ranging in size from 5 X 5 feet to 5 X 30 feet.
The second and third story floor plans are identical. Lots of units for rent, ranging from 5 X 5 feet to 5 X 20 feet.
Yonkers 300 LLC has an address in Red Bank, according to njpropertyrecords.com. The LLC is owned by Brooklyn developer Tomasetti of Asset Realty & Construction Group.
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