Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. is expanding its self-storage facility in Newport, R.I. The company purchased land abutting U-Haul Moving & Storage of Newport in November. The property at 111 Connell Highway includes an existing building, which will be converted to climate-controlled storage units as well as provide space for U-Box portable storage, according to a company press release. The nearly 10,000-square-foot building most recently housed a towing company.

"We're still in the beginning stages at the new building," said Thomas Snell, executive assistant for U-Haul Co. of Rhode Island. "Major interior and exterior renovations need to be completed, but this building will give us more options for climate-controlled interior storage and U-Box containers."

Opened in 1978, U-Haul Moving & Storage of Newport is just off the Claiborne Pell Bridge near the Naval Station Newport. In addition to self-storage, it offers moving and packing supplies, and U-Box portable-storage containers.

"We are excited for this project because U-Haul will ensure that this large building will not become an eyesore," Snell said. "Newport is home to the U.S. Naval War College and the [U.S. Navy] Officer Candidate School, so moving and storage is a necessary service here."

The acquisition of the Newport land was driven by U-Haul’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, the release stated. 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 has more than 44 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,200 owned facilities throughout North America.

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