U-Haul plans to transform part of the former Kmart store in Queensbury into 641 climate-controlled storage units.
The do-it-yourself moving and storage company also wants to construct 147 driveup self storage units and retail space at 308 Dix Ave.
The company hired Environmental Design Partnership of Clifton Park to redesign a 65,850-square-foot section of the 170,000-square-foot former Kmart retail store. U-Haul affiliate AREC 34 LLC bought the 29.35-acre property in January 2019 from SRC Facilities LLC, a real estate holding company controlled by Sears Holding Corp. The $7.1 million purchase price was part of an agreement to buy 13 former Kmart and Sears stores in 11 states for $62 million.
U-Haul has filed plans for the Kmart building conversion with the town of Queensbury. The project is scheduled to be discussed by the planning board on Jan. 28.
Plans also could include reusing a portion of the building for retail.
The former Queensbury Kmart was among 80 Sears and Kmart locations that closed over the past year. Another 96 stores are expected to close in the next few months.
U-Haul purchased several of the buildings and converted them into storage space because in many cases it is less expensive than building from scratch.
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