The project known as Newburgh Self Storage made an initial appearance at the Town of Newburgh Planning Board meeting Thursday, March 21. The project proposes a new self storage center at the Showtime Cinemas theater site.

The project, represented by Colliers Engineering and Design, seeks a new self storage center, a permitted use within the interchangeable business (IB) zone of the town. The site, at 1420 Route 300 and owned by Sam Newburgh, LLC, is currently serviced by town water and sewer.

The facility with the movie theater would be renovated into a two-story storage facility and include a drive-thru area and a 3,300 square foot storage addition to the front side of the site. There are 10 additionally proposed buildings, totaling 71,825 square feet, to be built and a 600 square foot office.

A 13-foot height area variance would need to be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals to the applicant to address maximum permitted height. The current building is noted at 28 feet in height whereas the town, per the engineer’s understanding, requires buildings like storage centers to be 15 feet in height.

The project would also involve a proposed disturbance of 6.9 plus or minus acres and would require the preparation of a stormwater pollution prevention plan in accordance with town and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) standards.

A prepared MHE Engineering memo notes the proposal for the project and the difference in height, requiring the variance. With two access points on state highways (Route 52 and Route 300), submission of the project to the Orange County Planning Department and New York State Department of Transportation also would be required.

Additional comments in the memo address items such as the need for specific-sized fire access roads and the need for architectural review. Also, the memo says all buildings would be required to have sprinklers, and existing utilities should be depicted. The memo also requests the applicant to include landscaping, soil erosion sediment control, grading and lighting in their future submission of plans.
Adjoiners notices would need to be sent out as it is an initial appearance by the project. The planning board approved a referral letter to be sent to the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

The following day, Friday, March 22, the Showtimes Cinemas Facebook page posted a response to the proposal: “Last evening at a town planning board hearing, a company presented a proposed plan to turn our current theater location into a storage facility. Although similar proposals submitted in prior years have always failed to materialize, we felt it was important to address this latest situation as it unfolds. At this point, we are FULLY OPEN and plan to remain operating for the foreseeable future. We also continue to investigate opportunities for relocating our facility. We will continue to monitor the process of this current proposal and will provide more updates as they become available. Thank you to all who continue to support us and we look forward to bringing you a great slate of movies over the next several months and beyond.”