City Council approved a request from Southern States that will allow them to build a new retail space
A recent zoning change that will also change the comprehensive plan was approved by Milford City Council at a recent meeting. The request was made by Southern States in order to allow them to build a second building on the north side of Milford Harrington Highway.
“The new building would be caddy-corner from the current Southern States location,” Cliff Mumford, an engineer with Davis, Bowen & Friedel, said. “Southern States has owned this property since 1999 and they’ve had an eye on growing in Milford. As we all know, they have been part of the Milford community for many years and they intend to expand their services by investing in a new retail sales building. Retail sales is not permitted use in I-1 zoning so a change of zoning must be completed from industrial to C3 highway commercial.”
Mumford explained that this property was sandwiched between other commercial properties and that the new store would be complementary to the neighboring properties. The new store would include a small landscape nursery, outside bullpen for landscaping and farm supplies as well as a tractor showroom. There would also be an area for repairing and servicing small engines along with tractors. The existing Southern States store would remain, offering other services provided by the company.
“This is our 75th year in business in Milford,” Gary Rhodes, Manager of Southern States, said. “We’re very proud of that. We are jammed up and need more space for growth. We sell lots of items and farm supplies, tractors and mowers, things like that. We need more space to serve the community. WE also see a large growth coming in the Milford area and we really believe we need to be able to be competitive in the Milford market. We need to get out there and get us some retail space so people will have a very enjoyable shopping experience.”
There was no public comment for or against the project during the accompanying public hearing portion of the request.
“I vote yes,” Councilman Todd Culotta said. “This, again, is another good thing for Milford growth. Business growth from a company that has been here for a very long time. It’s always great to see a company reinvest in our community.”
Councilman Jason James agreed.
“It does bring it in line with the properties that are already facing Milford Harrington Highway,” Councilman James said. “IT is great to see that a 75-year resident of the City of Milford has decided to continue to invest in the city.”
The request passed unanimously.
“If you look at the quality of what they do, the area where the gas station is, the landscaping, anything they do is beautiful,” Councilman Dan Marabello said. “I’m very proud of this addition to the city.”
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