A storage project by a well-known name in the area restaurant industry could be the spark to ignite additional development on Baxter’s north end.
Bob Sullivan, known for his long history in owning restaurant franchises in the area from Wendy’s to projects with Bob and Larissa Sulivan, such as Firehouse Subs and Blaze Pizza , was before the Baxter City Council Tuesday, Jan. 2, with a proposal for a storage unit project near the intersection of County Highway 77 — also known as Pine Beach Road — and Inglewood Drive. Sully’s Self Storage is proposed to include 13 self-storage buildings on an 8-acre property. The proposal includes a five-year development plan beginning this spring with a completion date for the spring of 2029, noting it could be completed a year earlier depending on weather and building materials.
The facility would have space large enough for recreational vehicles and campers. It would include camera security and down-force lighting. Sullivan said it would be more of a destination so the sign would be low-key. Wetland would not be disturbed. The area is largely open and Sullivan said they plan to do landscaping.
For the city council, the question was about utilities. Normally projects are development driven. In this case, the developer was seeking city utilities with the city paying about $237,500 to extend water and sewer to the area. Water and sewer are required to develop in the city, which has left this land in sort of a state of limbo since it was annexed in 2015.
At Tuesday’s meeting, engineers noted the extension would also serve the city with an extension of a 12-inch watermain along the south side of Highway 77 and a long-range plan calls for a 12-inch watermain from the North Water Tower to Highway 77 and the city’s Edgewood Drive commercial area. Baxter also requires spacing for fire hydrants around the buildings.
“This project would complete the loop from Edgewood Drive to Inglewood Drive. The looping is necessary to provide adequate water service and fire protection to the TH 371 and Inglewood Drive corridors,” the city’s Public Works Department stated in a written report to the council. “There has been some recent interest in commercial business in this area and a willing developer to assist with project development and costs. At some point, this area will develop and City utilities will need to be extended to the area. The current City cost is estimated at $237,500 and the cost will only increase with time as construction costs continue to rise.”
Utilities are nearby at the Highway 77 and Edgewood Drive intersection. Another possible change for the city is agreeing to a 12-year assessment instead of a five year plan for developer driven projects.
“The reason for the 12-year assessment request is because the parcels in this area existed prior to annexation in 2015 and no development can occur without City utilities,” the report stated. “The property has been sitting undeveloped for nearly ten-years since annexation without City utilities causing an undue hardship on the property owners in the area.”
Utilities are nearby at the Highway 77 and Edgewood Drive intersection. Another possible change for the city is agreeing to a 12-year assessment instead of a five year plan for developer driven projects.
“The reason for the 12-year assessment request is because the parcels in this area existed prior to annexation in 2015 and no development can occur without City utilities,” the report stated. “The property has been sitting undeveloped for nearly ten-years since annexation without City utilities causing an undue hardship on the property owners in the area.”
At the council workshop session, Mayor Darrel Olson asked if the city was also talking to the other three property owners in the area. Trevor Walter, Public Works director and city engineer, said they did talk in the past and one has an interested buyer but would need water and sewer by the end of the summer. At this point, the council was being asked for a consensus as to whether they should move forward and explore the project. Walter said they are proposing asking the property owners to give a 30-foot-wide easement as part of doing the project.
Olson said the properties were pigeonholed and cannot develop without utilities. It also opens up options to finish water and sewer to the west of Inglewood Drive. While the longer assessment would be outside the box, Olson said there is a larger benefit to the city for the circulation of water and to get the property that people have sought to be developed able to go forward. Council members Connie Lyscio, Zach Tabatt, Mark Cross and Jeff Phillips were also in favor of moving forward with a feasibility study. Phillips asked about the capacity to leave trees on the site. Sullivan said they wouldn’t be touching the wetland and would be sensitive to the neighbors and work with the city on landscaping, noting the land is not heavily treed currently.
Now the question will be how added water and sewer sparks other development in the area.
