After struggling to fill the former Macy’s space they purchased at Waterbury’s Brass Mill Center three years ago, West Hartford investors Sami and Dr. Nazeeh Abunasra are seeking a zoning change that would allow self-storage at the property.
The brothers paid $3.3 million for the 161,744-square-foot former department store on nearly 11.5 acres at 575 Union St., on the eastern end of the mall.
At the time, they planned to reconstruct the parking lot, improve landscaping and add retail and restaurant buildings. Their goal was to create a self-contained shopping plaza similar to Brass Mill Commons, just west of the mall.
Those plans, however, ran into objections from neighboring mall owner Summit Properties, which holds easement rights giving it control over certain changes to the parking configuration. Sami Abunasra said those restrictions have prevented the brothers from pursuing their original redevelopment plans.
The Abunasras opened an Ashley Outlet furniture store in roughly 30,000 square feet of the former Macy’s shortly after buying the property but have been unable to find tenants for most of the remaining space.
They are now seeking zoning changes that would add self-storage as a permitted use.
Sami Abunasra, who manages the brothers’ real estate investments, said no specific self-storage project is planned. Rather, the change would broaden the property’s potential uses and make it more attractive for investment.
There are no plans to relocate the Ashley Outlet, which is part of the brothers’ larger Ashley furniture franchise operation.
“There are no plans, per se,” Sami Abunasra said. “It’s not like we have something lined up. We are just trying to make the property more investable.”
