The Milwaukee Plan Commission on Monday voted against a plan to convert the long-vacant former Walmart store at Midtown Center into a self-storage facility with retail storefronts, according to meeting minutes.
Iowa-based Affordable Family Storage owns the 150,000-square-foot building at 5825 W. Hope Ave. and wants to convert a bulk of the space into 850 self-storage units. The firm would convert the remaining space into four small- and mid-sized retail and commercial storefronts.
Affordable Family Storage also would replace part of the former Walmart parking lot with green space − which could eventually be a site for affordable apartments or other retail, according to city documents.
But self-storage centers aren’t an allowed use at Midtown Center, due to a development zone that overlays the Midtown area, and Affordable Family Storage’s plans don’t meet the city’s criteria for providing an exception to that zone, a report from city staff says.
That zone calls for, among other things, refilling vacant spaces with activity generators that would support other existing retailers.
The self-storage facility is only expected to generate five to 10 vehicle trips per day, city documents say.
“This is far less than what an average retailer experiences daily in terms of customer visits,” the staff report says. “The drive-in model proposed for this facility does not require a self-storage customer to leave their vehicle to patronize the establishment. It is an auto-centric and internalized model.”
Further, the firm’s proposal isn’t providing enough information with its redevelopment plans, such as building materials, potential retail tenants or plans to redevelop the future greenspace, according to the report.
“There is no further information provided on when the retail spaces proposed in the north 1/3 of the building would be occupied and by whom,” the report says. “No marketing plan has been provided, and there is no indication that there has been an analysis done to identify viable uses for these spaces given the existing use restrictions set forth by the mall.”
Affordable Family Storage purchased the former Walmart store and surrounding land last year for $3.28 million. Walmart closed the store in 2016.
According to its website, Affordable Family Storage has 18 climate-controlled storage facilities in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois. Currently its only Wisconsin site is located at 5851 South Packard Ave. in Cudahy.
Affordable Family Storage did not immediately respond to request for comment.
