Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc., which operates more than 1,300 self-storage facilities across North America, has purchased a former Macy’s department store in Monaca, Pa., with plans to convert a portion of it to self-storage. The company paid $1.5 million for the space, which spans two floors inside Beaver Valley Mall at 570 Beaver Valley Mall Blvd., according to the source.

The department store, which opened in 1970, comprises 200,000 square feet of space. Macy’s vacated last year. U-Haul plans to add self-storage units to the second level and turn a portion of the first floor into a showroom, which it hopes to open this month. It will then lease out the remaining space, according to Bob Bourgeois, president of the U-Haul Co. of Pittsburgh.

“With the revitalization going on downtown, we wanted to give people the opportunity for convenience,” said Todd Schnitzer, president of the U-Haul Co. of Western New York. “The conversion of existing buildings into mixed-use and residential property downtown is growing, and people are moving back into the area.”

The 1.15-million-square-foot shopping center is “evolving dramatically,” said Tim Mascari, general manager of the Beaver Valley Mall. Farm-supply store Rural King moved into a two-story anchor spot after a Sears store closed in 2016. Department stores JCPenney and Boscov’s are still a part of the shopping center, which is seeking other tenants to fill additional empty spaces, the source reported.

U-Haul has several conversion projects underway, including sites in Arizona, Indianapolis and Utah. It’s also repurposing a former Kmart store in Lancaster, Calif., and a factory in Erie, Pa., to self-storage. All the projects are a part of the company’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint.

Established in 1945, U-Haul owns more than 51 million square feet of storage space at owned and managed facilities in North America.

Source:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, At the Mall: When Macy's Moves Out and U-Haul Moves In