Big Jim bringing a whole lot of self storage to Lakewood Ranch

Self storage space is a relatively scarce resource at Lakewood Ranch.

Developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch is seeking to remedy that with its proposed Big Jim Self Storage at 15107 Garnet Trail that would bring 185,000 square feet of space to the area, including several three-story buildings for RV and boat storage.

Big Jim would be located on 6.65 acres between 59th Avenue East and State Road 70, west of the Lakewood Ranch Post Office and Premier Sports Campus. It’s in an area near the center of Lakewood Ranch with no residential development.

The project is awaiting staff comments as the plat and site plan are finalized, said Margaret Tusing, principal county planner for the project.

Kirk Boylston, president of Lakewood Ranch Commercial, confirmed that once SMR receives the approvals for Big Jim, it will sell the project to another developer. It is not unusual for SMR to plan and win the permitting for a commercial project, and then sell it to another company when it is ready to be built.

“We have a real lack of self storage,” Boylston said.

Big Jim would be built in four phases. Phase I would include an 81,624-square-foot, three-story building, and two much-smaller one-story buildings. The second three-story building, measuring 50,859 square feet, would be built in Phase II. In all, seven buildings are planned for the project.

Lakewood Ranch has some self storage in its Corporate Park. SMR is also developing about 80,000 square feet of self storage at Lakewood Ranch Business Park, near 44th Avenue East off Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, Boylston said.

Cavoli Engineering of Sarasota is listed as the engineer and agent for Big Jim.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Big Jim bringing a whole lot of self storage to Lakewood Ranch."