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Board continues use-variance hearing for former Wegmans redevelopment; requests five years of financials and marketing documentation
Summary
Morgan Britain LLC sought a use variance to convert the 75,400 sq ft former Wegmans building on Dewey Avenue to climate-controlled self-storage. The board pressed for additional financial history, a list of serious prospective tenants, construction/renovation cost estimates, and a floor plan; the hearing was continued to July 7, 2026.
Attorney Betsy Bug, representing Morgan Britain LLC, presented a use-variance request to allow climate-controlled self-storage inside the 75,400-square-foot former Wegmans building at 3640–3660 Dewey Avenue. Bug said the developer has marketed the property for years, shown documented losses and marketing efforts, and that restrictive covenants tied to the prior Wegmans ownership limit grocery and pharmacy uses and have constrained retenanting options.
Bug and the developer’s broker summarized the building’s constraints: a 225-foot depth that makes subdivision costly and complex, large vacant interior areas (including a long-unfinished 9,500-sq-ft space), and the cost estimate to reconfigure the building into smaller retail bays or demolish the rear portion (roughly $4–5 million to redivide, per an FSI estimate provided to the board). The developer and broker described more than a year of professional marketing and presented requested documentation including income-and-expense submissions and a closing statement showing original purchase and capital investment.
Board members and advisors pressed several themes: whether the hardship is self-created (the deed restriction was known at purchase), whether permitted uses could generate a reasonable return, the sufficiency of the marketing record, impacts to the neighborhood (crime and traffic), and precise plans for how a storage operation would operate and where access points would be placed. The developer said the proposed self-storage operator would manage and develop the interior and that facilities of this type typically have high security, electronic access controls and limited daily vehicle trips compared with retail.
The board requested additional materials before deciding: five years of financials or an equivalent financial narrative, a comprehensive list of serious prospective tenants and marketing outreach records (including contacts with medical, educational and retail prospects), construction estimates and a simple floor plan/elevations showing proposed exterior/entry changes (garage doors, access points), and evidence of outreach to Wegmans about covenant release. The applicant agreed to provide the documentation and the hearing was continued to July 7, 2026.
