Update 7/14/16 – U-Haul has four more conversion projects underway in Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Once complete, the projects will add more than 2,500 storage units to the company’s portfolio.

U-Haul is converting a former home and leisure store called The Great Escape in Bloomington, Ill., to self-storage. U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Veterans officially opened in January at 1710 R.T. Dunn Drive. Plans are underway to add 821 interior, climate-controlled units and 30 covered spaces for vehicle parking to the 55,530-square-foot, 5.36-acre property. Phase one will include 400 units and is expected to be completed in September. Construction of the final phase is slated for January.

U-Haul is converting another property in Illinois. The company acquired the 2.43-acre site at 8900 S. Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn in May. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Oak Lawn offers more space than the company’s store on West 95th Street, which recently closed, according to a press release. U-Haul plans to add storage units to the existing 21,438-square-foot building as well as construct a new structure that will include 600 climate-controlled units. The units are expected to be available in 2017.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Telegraph Road in Detroit opened a temporary showroom in April while the 15.23-acre property is being converted. The former Kmart Super Center at 19990 Telegraph Road was vacant for three years prior to U-Haul’s acquisition. The site currently offers 36 outdoor, drive-up storage units. Once renovations are compete in 2017, the facility will offer nearly 1,200 climate-controlled units.

The company also recently acquired the historic, eight-story Pennsylvania Railroad Co. cold-storage warehouse in South Philadelphia. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Riverview opened at 8 E. Oregon Ave. in March. Once the renovations are completed in early 2017, the facility will offer more than 1,000 indoor storage units.

"This building is a piece of history," said Dominic Catalano, president of the U-Haul Co. of South Philadelphia. "It was built in the early 1900s and was a major key in the railroad system. Now, U-Haul is reusing an iconic South Philly building to make sure less carbon emissions are being put into the air all while keeping this city's great history alive."

6/21/16 – Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc., which operates more than 1,200 self-storage facilities across North America, has been very active with self-storage development across the U.S. and recently announced one ground-up construction and four building-conversion projects. The developments will add more than 146,000 square feet and 1,950 units to the company’s portfolio.

The company expects to open U-Haul Moving & Storage of Westhaven in Greenville, N.C., in January. It acquired a 10-acre vacant lot at 4057 S. Memorial Drive about a year ago. The three-story asset will comprise 70,000 square feet in 959 units as well as a 4,000-square-foot U-Box portable-storage warehouse and 100 covered vehicle-storage spaces. The new facility will be U-Haul’s first in the Greenville market, according to a press release.

U-Haul recently completed the conversion of the former DePalo & Sons restaurant in Baltimore to self-storage. The project at 4650 Belair Road comprises 15,460 square feet in 259 units and is adjacent to the existing U-Haul at Belair Road facility, which previously offered only truck rentals, towing equipment and moving supplies. The new facility opened on June 17.

U-Haul has also completed a similar project at 3936 Salem Ave. in Dayton, Ohio. The conversion of a former shopping plaza adjacent to U-Haul Moving & Storage of Harrison Township adds 10,026 square feet and 138 units to the facility. The existing site had served the area since 1992 but didn’t offer any self-storage, according to a press release.

The company recently acquired the former Harvest Foods grocery store on 4 acres at 8900 Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock, Ark., and is nearing completion of its conversion to self-storage. The project will comprise 51,386 square feet in 597 units and include an 8,000-square-foot U-Box warehouse. The asset will be known as U-Haul Storage at Baseline Road and is two blocks from U-Haul Moving & Storage at Baseline Road, which has served the local market since 1978. The conversion is expected to be complete this summer.

U-Haul also recently acquired the C.H. Coakley & Co. storage building at 3530 W. Pierce St. in Milwaukee for $900,000. C.H. Coakley specializes in document storage and records management and also operates the Mayflower moving company. It occupied the five-story building for 30 years. U-Haul intends to renovate the structure, built in 1917, to offer climate control. The project is expected to be complete early next year, according to the source.

Established in 1945, U-Haul owns more than 44 million square feet of storage space. The company’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, has led to dozens of conversion projects in recent years.

Sources: