$3 Million Self-Storage Facility Proposed for Vacant Auto Dealership on High Street in Sanatoga

Photos by Evan Brandt

A mock up of the self storage facility presented to the Lower Pottsgrove Township Commissioners Monday night for the vacant car dealership property on East High Street in Sanatoga Village.

After a series of owners tried to make a go of it as a car dealership, a property on East High Street is now being considered for a $3 million self-storage facility.

Called Moove-In Self Storage, the company has just had a facility approved in Amity Township, owns and intends to spend $500,000 on expanding the existing self-storage on South Pleasantview Road and now wants to add the former car dealership to its holdings.

"We also have 20 other locations in Maryland and New Jersey," said developer John Gilliland of

The basic site plan for the project. High Street is at the top.

Investment Real Estate Group.

The investors had informally met previously with staff and Township Commissioners Chairman Bruce Foltz, "and we told them we weren't interested, that they needed to improve their plan, and they did."

Gilliland said self-storage facilities are in demand -- he said there is a waiting list at the South Pleasantview Road location -- offer tax base with low impact, no school children, little to no impact on police services and low traffic.

He said studies show the average unit renter visits twice every 13 months.

Gilliland said the units would be a neutral color and face inward, so as not to disturb residents of the town homes neighboring the rear of the property and would generate much less light pollution.

The existing office/showroom building would be gutted and converted to climate-controlled storage units, he said.

The commissioners also heard from a speaker who is considering purchasing the old Saylor farm off Pleasantview Road and using the barn as a wedding venue, but wanted to make sure the commissioners do not object before making an offer on the property.

Township Manager Ed Wagner said the property is in the R-2 zoning district, and so a use variance would be required for the business to open, but the commissioners said they have no objections.

Police Chief Michael Foltz updated the township on a computer program he has purchased for the police cruisers which shuts down the computer system in the cars when they are in motion, "to cut down on distracted driving."

In a similar vein, he asked for, and the commissioners approved, a new policy that prohibits officers texting while driving, or using a hand-held phone while driving.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

From Car Dealership to Self Storage Units