LOWE’S MOTION
Owner of Diamond Hill Road property can’t find retail tenant, proposes self-storage facility
WOONSOCKET – After attempting to market the building to a national chain merchandiser for nearly two years, the owner of the former Lowe’s building on Diamond Hill Road is asking the Zoning Board of Review for permission to lease it as self-storage space.
Representatives of Flair Diversified Properties, which owns the building and more than 20 acres of surrounding land, is expected to appear before the board on Feb. 8.
FDP had been scheduled to appear for a hearing this week but the session was rescheduled after a representative of FDP called City Hall hours before the meeting and asked for more time, a spokeswoman for the zoners said.
In its application for a variance, the California-based company says it is seeking permission to pursue an “adaptive reuse” of the building as a climate-controlled self-storage
facility. The reason for the request is that “the applicant has been unsuccessful in marketing this property for the use it was designed for, namely, a big box retail store,” the application says.
Representatives of FDP couldn’t be reached, but the application says the 2010 Diamond Hill Road site has some urgent maintenance needs. It also suggests that without other alternatives, self-storage is a low-risk strategy for the parcel to generate revenue needed for upkeep.
The asphalt in the parking lot needs to be resurfaced, the roof is leaking and must be replaced, and the portico-style roof above the former outdoor garden center has collapsed.
“The City of Woonsocket, especially Diamond Hill Road, has been adversely affected by publicly-owned corporate ‘big box’ retailers whose actions are primarily driven by corporate earnings and shareholder reaction...” FDP asserts.
Citing figures from the Self Storage Association, FDP says self-storage has been the fastest-growing sector of the commercial real estate market for 40 years and is expected to continue growing as an aging population of baby-boomers looks to downsize.
The 143,000-square-foot building is one of several major commercial vacancies on the city’s predominant retail strip, which lost a string of national-chain merchandisers during the last few years for a variety of reasons. Walmart and Lowe’s both relocated to the burgeoning Dowling Village retail center in North Smithfield, which is closer to interstate traffic on Route 146. Staples office supply and Shaw’s Supermarket closed up shop to shed unprofitable locations.
The retail shells they left behind are suitable for national chain merchandisers – if not smaller, independent retailers – but all remain wanting for tenants, some since 2011.
In an interview with radio station WNRI last week, Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt was lukewarm to the idea of self-storage in the old Lowe’s building, but she was optimistic that the move is just a stopgap until FDP finds a suit- able tenant.
“It’s nice to see activity, but obviously I would prefer something at least I would’ve considered a little more exciting,” the mayor said. “Hopefully something will come up before he finalizes plans for that.”
The mayor suggested that FDP may use less than the entire building for self-storage and that the company would be open to modifying the plan under the right circumstances.
She said FDP apparently decided to move forward with the self-storage proposal on its own after rejecting multiple offers from prospective purchasers of the property, but she did not identify the suitors.
Dun & Bradstreet’s website describes Flair Diversified Properties as a commercial property company based in South San Francisco that was formed in 2010. The company’s application to the zoning board was signed by David Flaherty, but the paperwork lists a telephone number whose voice mail is answered by “Max.”
Max Brandt has worked as the chief financial officer for FDP since March 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile. He didn’t return telephone calls on Tuesday.