Ashley Furniture is seeking Hillsborough County approval to expand its Brandon distribution center as part of a zoning request covering 54.15 acres next to Interstate 75.
The request would allow up to 620,610 square feet of light-industrial development on the consolidated tract. Site plans filed with the county show a warehouse expansion of up to 406,466 square feet, although the county’s June hearing record describes a smaller building limit.
Hillsborough County commissioners are scheduled to consider the request Aug. 11. County staff has recommended approval, finding that the plan would shift allowable industrial development north toward I-75 and farther from nearby homes. The Planning Commission also found the proposal consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan.
Ashley plans to extend the warehouse west toward I-75, with more loading areas, trailer and employee parking and a second entrance on Broadway Center Boulevard.
The plans call for relocating the existing stormwater area from the northwest portion of the property and creating a 15.2-acre stormwater pond to the southwest. The 54.15-acre tract contains 5.52 acres of wetlands.
Ashley is asking for 52,817 square feet of new industrial development rights, far less than the size of the proposed expansion because the property already has unused rights that can be moved to the warehouse site. The company would do that by combining three development areas and dropping hotel and neighborhood commercial uses previously allowed there.
The county estimates Ashley’s proposal would put less traffic on surrounding roads than the mix of development already allowed on the property. If fully developed under its current approvals, the property could generate 5,654 vehicle trips entering or leaving the site each day, including 1,004 during the afternoon peak hour.
Ashley’s proposal is projected to generate 3,010 daily vehicle trips, including 223 during that peak hour. The proposed zoning conditions would cap development at 3,010 daily trips, 236 during the morning peak hour and 223 during the afternoon peak hour.
Ashley’s expansion would also require improvements to Broadway Center Boulevard, the two-lane county road serving the property. The road does not meet current county standards, so Ashley would have to upgrade the section between its entrances and the nearest compliant roadway or receive a county variance. The company would also have to add a westbound right-turn lane at its eastern entrance when the next phase of development begins.
County approval on Aug. 11 would settle the zoning request, but Ashley still has work to do before construction can begin.
The company has not finished engineering the expansion, and its representative told the county that the building could shrink if the stormwater system cannot support the full plan. Ashley would also need site development, building and any remaining environmental approvals.
The county documents do not say how much the expansion would cost, when construction could begin or how many jobs it could add.