A climate-controlled self-storage facility is the latest business proposing to locate in The Crossings development in Carrollton. Isle of Wight County’s Planning Commission has recommended approval of a conditional use permit that would allow the 75,000-square-foot, three-story building.
The submitted site plan calls for access from an extension of Lori Anne Way, a road that will also serve the Publix grocery store slated to anchor The Crossings’ commercial phase, and a Royal Farms gas station. Lori Anne provides right-turn-only access to and from Carrollton Boulevard and also connects to Spadea Way, the main road leading into the development from the four-lane highway.
The self-storage facility would be behind and to the left of the Royal Farms as seen from Carrollton Boulevard. According to county staff, there are already more than 175,000 square feet of existing and approved but unbuilt self-storage facilities within three miles of the site, though none are climate-controlled.
The closest climate-controlled facility is Smithfield Self Storage, roughly 6 miles away. “We’re approaching, we’re probably beyond the average for the state,” said Commissioner Thomas Distefano.
County staff had estimated in 2022 when county supervisors approved a 120,000-square-foot, non-climate-controlled storage facility on Carrollton Boulevard, roughly 2 miles from The Crossings, that Isle of Wight had an average of 9 square feet of rentable storage per person compared to the 5-square-foot-per-person state average. Distefano, however, voted with the six other commissioners present to unanimously vote in favor of the self-storage proposal. Commissioners George Rawls, Jennifer Boykin and Chairman Brian Carroll were absent.
According to Crossings developer Jerry Bowman, this would be the first of three parcels he intends to develop on the cul-de-sac extension of Lori Anne Way. He’s hoping to bring a hotel and full-service, sit-down restaurant to the other two.
To date, the Royal Farms and a new branch of Langley Federal Credit Union on the opposite side of Spadea Way have broken ground in The Crossings’ commercial phase. Its residential phase, which is approved for up to 240 condominium units and 52 single-family homes, broke ground in 2021. Publix is planning to open in late 2024.
The supervisors will consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation for the climate-controlled storage facility at its Sept. 21 meeting.
