Two new storefronts planned along Main Street West with the sale of the Brick

The Brick furniture store on Huntsville’s Main Street West may be moving to another location.

A deal being hashed out between The Brick’s Bob Chipperfield and Lindgren Mini Storage’s Dave Hernen would see the latter purchase The Brick property and expand his storage facility to the back of the building, while retaining two retail boutique-style storefronts on the main street.

Planning consultant John Gallagher was before Huntsville’s Planning Committee on December 14, 2016 on behalf of the businesses. He was there asking for a zoning amendment to allow the majority of the existing Brick building to be used for indoor self-storage. Gallagher told committee that there is a demand for climate-controlled storage as many businesses, especially in the downtown area, use the service to store their seasonal products and archives.

“I think part of the proposal that strengthens and supports the downtown is the fact that we have these smaller retail uses being retained along the main street. The success of small business is starting small and by having smaller units it allows for a more appropriate cost in lease that one might be able to succeed,” said Gallagher, adding that the proposal has received support from the Business Improvement Area (BIA).

Gallagher said the storage units would be accessed through the back of the building and the front façade would be in keeping with Huntsville’s main street. He said the square footage of the two retail units would be about 1,600 square feet in total.

Councillor Bob Stone, who sits on the board of the BIA, welcomed the proposal, referring to the smaller and more affordable retail space as functional and attractive.

Chipperfield told Doppler that if all goes according to plan, the sale of The Brick property could be finalized sometime in mid-January. He said he plans to continue operating the furniture store, but at another undetermined location.

The zoning amendment was approved by committee and ratified by Huntsville council at its December 20 meeting.

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