Marathon business looks to build large storage shed

By Kevin O’Brien

AMarathon City storefront business is asking the village for permission to build a 40by-40 foot storage building in a commercial area, with the goal of cleaning up the exterior of the property and providing more security.

MacMillan Innovations, which owns the commercial building at 670 Maratech Ave., presented its plans for a new accessory structure to the village’s planning commission last Wednesday, with the commission recommending approval of a conditional use permit.

The proposed storage shed would be built two feet to the north of a commercial building that includes MacMillan Arms, a firearms dealer, and a Subway restaurant. The entire one-acre lot is owned by Edgar-based MacMillan Innovations, which is the entity that applied for the conditional use permit.

The shed will be used to store a skid steer, a lawnmower and other materials involved with maintaining the property. A shipping container and a smaller shed currently on the site will be removed.

Owner Chad MacMillan said the company does all its own snow removal and salting, so it needs a place to store its materials indoors.

“That whole area is going to get cleaned up, so we’re just taking steps to do what we can,” he said.

Prime Design Builders of Kronenwetter will be constructing the storage unit, which is considered an accessory building under the village’s zoning ordinance. Accessory buildings are allowed in the C1-Commercial district, but they require a conditional-use permit, so the planning commission had to hold a public hearing and sign off on the proposal. The building will stand just over 12 feet tall, with a pair of overhead doors, one each on the west and east side, with a service door on the west side. Construction will involve the removal of a 50 by 50 foot patch of asphalt and the pouring of concrete for a slab.

Because the building will be located within the village’s business park, commissioners set a condition that it follow the business park design covenants. This includes a requirement that 40 percent of the west-facing facade incorporate “brick, stone, architectural block, architectural concrete panels, architectural wood and/or glass.”

MacMillan said he had no problem having his contractor change the designs to accommodate the covenants. “Whatever we have to do I’m fine with,” he said.

Commissioners expressed some concerns about blocking off the area behind the main building, which has been used by delivery trucks in the past, but MacMillan said he doesn’t plan on having any businesses in the building that would need access to the back.

Commissioner Mark Ahrens said he’s gotten some questions from residents about what the village plans to do to clean up the area outside the building, so he supports the proposed building.

“I think it’s a good idea to get it inside the shed,” he said.

THE PLAN - The aerial map above shows where a planned 45 by 45 foot storage building is planned to be built by MacMillan Innovations, which owns the adjacent building with Subway and MacMillan Arms.