As self-storage facilities continue to proliferate in Connecticut, another is nearing completion on Route 7. But the design on this one is a U-turn from the typical cookie-cutter garage-door style concept that has proliferated the nation — something the developer hopes to expand regionally.
Designed by Darien-based Fletcher Development at 241 Ethan Allen Highway in Redding, Riverworks on 7 will include not just climate-controlled storage units, but storage bays as well for at least 50 vehicles and accompanying space for auto tinkerers. An indoor driving lane spares clients the chore of loading or unloading items in inclement weather.
Riverworks on 7 will have wine storage and an accompanying lounge as well, with Fletcher Development aiming to obtain a certificate of occupancy by the end of this year.
“We wanted a place where people will think, ‘It’s cool to come to the self-storage facility,'” said Fletcher Development founder and owner Ryan Fletcher. “This is not supposed to be a ‘one-off’ thing for us. We want to do many of these, and we wanted to make sure that the one that we came out with first was well received. Everyone is driving by right now and saying, ‘What is this thing?'”
The original structure dated back to 1987 according to Redding town records, and was used by Nordco, a Wabtec subsidiary with a Shelton office today that designs systems to inspect rails, ties and other railroad infrastructure.
Fletcher Development plans to preserve the property’s industrial heritage by setting aside a quarter of the building’s footprint as flex research and development space for multiple tenants. A defense contractor has already reserved a portion of that space, with Ryan Fletcher not identifying it by name but saying the company supplies components for fighter jets.
“We were thinking a lot about this in terms of a 360-degree, multidimensional experience for the user — and not only just for self-storage, but let’s try to engage it a little more,” said Nick Fletcher, head of commercial development who previously was an early employee of Datto based in Norwalk. “Let’s have industrial, let’s have car-storage, let’s have wine storage, so that it doesn’t feel like it’s … this commoditized product that we all have learned to hate.”
Storage facilities have emerged the past few years for niche purposes in Connecticut, with examples including North American Motor Car in Danbury and a wine vault at Hollow Tree Self-Storage in Darien, which has units that can also accommodate vehicles.
Fletcher Development purchased 241 Ethan Allen Highway in 2021 for $1.8 million, then set out to replace a dated office building there with $22 million in financing from Wells Fargo, according to town records. The property required an environmental remediation before construction could begin, including the replacement of contaminated soil.
The facility represents a major departure from traditional self-storage architecture by chains like Public Storage, Extra Space Storage and CubeSmart. The building’s variated styles are in full view along Route 7, to include gabled rooflines, silos and façades that evoke Connecticut’s historic mills.
“Understandably, we want something that’s attractive,” said Patrick A. Lemp, president of Watch Hill Storage Advisors in Glastonbury, who is familiar with the 241 Ethan Allen Highway site through a 2021 consulting analysis. “You certainly will gin up the costs which will be reflected in the rental rates needed … to justify that cost, but I think at the end of the day it’s generally a win-win for everybody, in that the town gets something that is clearly of value to its citizenry, but yet is not obnoxious-looking.”
Lemp, an appraiser, advisor and broker in the self-storage industry since 1995, said that storage facilities with flex-use space are still atypical, but that he could see the concept gaining traction.
“This is the ultimate ‘build it and hope they come’ business,” Lemp said. “You build your building and then you pedal fast and try to get it leased up.”
Particularly in southwestern Connecticut, Lemp said the self-storage development business remains hot, even factoring in resistance by some municipalities who want to attract other kinds of businesses to properties on the market.
Ryan Fletcher said he believes the Redding facility will get the notice of other municipalities in the wider region.
“Nick and I grew up in Redding, and the last thing I am going to do is build a big white box beside the road and put my name on it,” Ryan Fletcher said. “We spent a lot more money and a lot more time to design this building in a way where it’s architecturally significant, because we believe that long-term value will always be higher. … That has been proven in New York City over and over again.”
The facility will include solar arrays to generate electricity and a structural envelope to conserve energy, along with a backup generator to maintain building temperatures in the instance of any extended power outage.
While Redding took a major hit in the mid-August flash floods, Ryan Fletcher said the Riverworks on 7 property weathered the storm well, with a section of Norwalk River wetlands immediately north of the property providing an effective absorption buffer.
Fletcher Development now hopes to plow ahead with erasing preconceptions about self-storage, as Riverworks on 7 nears its debut.
“The challenge is … trying to change a stigma that a lot of municipalities have with the concept,” Nick Fletcher said. “It goes back to responsible development, which is not only doing it for your career and to make money, but do it in a way that is going to properly benefit the community in other ways.”
