Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. is converting a Bangor, Maine, building that once housed machinery and printing companies into a self-storage facility. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Outer Hammond at 415 Odlin Road just off Interstate 95 currently offers truck and trailer rentals. The 8-acre site includes two buildings totaling 30,100 square feet of space, and U-Haul plans to add a third.

Renovations are underway on the existing structures to add 330 storage units by the end of the year, according to Dave Martin, a general manager for U-Haul. Construction of the new building will begin in the spring, adding another 300 interior and drive-up units as well as a warehouse for more than 200 U-Box portable-storage containers, Martin said. Additional services will include hitch installation and propane sales. Once complete, the facility will employ 11 staff members.

Constructed in 1956, the buildings housed Caterpillar dealer Houghton-Arnold Machinery until the 1980s, and then Bacon Printing Co., the source reported.

The acquisition of the Bangor property was driven by U-Haul’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, the source reported. U-Haul’s adaptive reuse of existing structures eliminates the amount of energy and resources required for new-construction materials and helps local cities diminish their unwanted inventory of unused buildings, U-Haul officials said.

Established in 1945, U-Haul International has more than 40 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,000 owned and managed facilities throughout North America.    

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