At last weeks Bristol Township Council meeting members granted preliminary and final land development approval to AMERCO Real Estate Company, the real estate arm of U Haul, for a project that has been in process for years.
The company is set to expand its operations at the former Bristol Plaza shopping center.
The approved plan consists of the construction of an 18,000-square-foot warehouse and relocation of an existing 1,000-square-foot storage facility building.
A U-Haul representative said, “This is something we’ve been working on since 2021,”
The project, which is entirely within the parking lot of the Durham Road shopping center, is designed to expand U-Hauls’ storage capabilities and buttress its existing corporate operations at the site.
U-Haul scaled back some elements of its original proposal officials said. Removed from the original plan was canopy and the company did away with a “phase two” expansion that would have added a 5,000-square-foot structure.
Company officials focused on “greening up” the property, which sits at the heavily trafficked intersection of Durham Road, Bath Road, and Veterans Highway (Route 413). U-Haul plans to install interior landscaping and a row of trees to screen back end operations and storage areas from motorists on Durham Road.
“We’re going to be greening it up,” the representative explained. “We’re going to also be doing some interior landscaping at the site so that some kind of back of house operations are not going to be visible.”
U-Haul also agreed to limit the number of branded vehicles parked along the Durham Road frontage, at the request of township officials.
Parking space was reduced to six from the original 11 planned. six. The remaining vehicles will serve as advertising for the company.
The development previously received variance approvals from the Bristol Township Zoning Hearing Board in June and a recommendation for approval from the township’s planning commission.
U-Haul purchased the Bristol Plaza property in 2016 and moved its corporate printing operation to the site in 2017, according to township records.
Rendering from above U Haul Site in Bristol Twp of what the project will look like when completed Credit: YouTube screengrab
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