Proposed CubeSmart Self-Storage Facility Qualifies for Tax Incentives in New Haven, CT

Developer Michael Kenney, principal of 453 Washington Avenue North Haven LLC, has applied for the building permit to convert a vacant structure in North Haven, Conn., to a CubeSmart self-storage facility. The building at 453 Washington Ave. is on the north end of U.S. Route 5 near its intersection with Glenn Road. The site plan includes four separate storage buildings, which are expected to open next spring, according to the source.

Construction will cost $6.4 million, which qualifies for the town’s five-year tax-incentive plan, according to the source. The North Haven Board of Selectmen approved the tax-incentive application at its Sept. 3 meeting. The storage owner will pay 30 percent of the additional tax for the property in the first year, 40 percent in year two, 50 percent in year three, 70 percent in year four, 80 percent in year five, and full taxes beginning in year six, the source reported.

Launched in May 2014, the tax-incentive program was created as an economic-development tool to allow New Haven to better compete with nearby towns for new business, according to the source. The application for the self-storage development is the second to be approved. Cinemark Theater, which opened in July, was the first.

“The property has been vacant for decades. The tax phase-in helps us bring a new facility there. Having something productive will restore the property,” said New Haven First Selectman Mike Freda.

CubeSmart, a self-storage real estate investment trust, owns or manages 615 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises more than 41 million square feet. The company is listed fourth on the 2015 ISS Top-Operators List, which ranks the industry’s top 100 companies based on total net-rentable square footage.