Bookie Magee's Hideaway And OTB Becoming Self-Storage Units: Joliet City Council Vote Nears

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet City Council will take a vote at Tuesday night's meeting on a recommendation from Dustin Anderson, the city's director of community development, on plans for a special use permit to allow a self-storage facility at the old Bookie Magee's Hideaway and OTB, 2450 West Jefferson Street.

According to Anderson's memo, the petitioner and property owner, Menard, Inc., is requesting approval of a special use permit to allow a Menards self-storage facility at 2450 W. Jefferson Street.

The 2.8-acre property is zoned light industrial and is located behind the existing Menards home improvement store on Jefferson Street. The site was previously occupied by Bookie Magee’s Hideaway and OTB and has been vacant since that business relocated in 2022.

Anderson explained in his memo that the proposed storage facility would be owned and operated by Menard, Inc. and managed by the employees of the local Menards store, with support from the Menards general office in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The proposed self-storage facility would include seven new storage buildings with around 174 non-climate-controlled units total. The existing building would be remodeled to contain around 92 climate-controlled units. The facility would be entirely enclosed: storage buildings would be located around the perimeter of the site, with fencing installed between buildings and connected to the existing fence along the south. The site would be accessed by a gated entry with overhead doors, located at the northwest corner of the site (as shown on the north elevation on the attached site plan).

The door would be controlled by a PIN pad so that only users with a private access code could enter the site. The storage facility would be overseen by employees of the adjacent Menards store, who would check on the site daily and be available for other issues during store hours. The storage facility would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for renters of the units. The facility would have security cameras throughout in addition to the secure access gate.