AMERCO, the parent company of U-Haul International Inc., is eyeing a vacant Kmart in Pocatello, Idaho, for conversion to self-storage. The planning and zoning commission last week unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the property at 3945 Pole Line Road, which AMERCO has under contract, according to the source.

“We still haven’t closed on the property yet, but now that we know we can operate in that location conditionally, we are going to put the project in front of our board to sign off for approval,” said Casey Jones, president of the U-Haul Co. of Idaho. “If our board signs off on it, which I expect that they will, then we will complete an expansion of the old Kmart building.”

The 96,000-square-foot structure will be transformed into at least 700 units of indoor, climate-controlled storage. Additional offerings will include hitch installation, a retail store that sells moving and packing supplies, portable-storage containers, propane sales, and trail and truck rentals.

As part of its approval, the commission requested that AMERCO refresh the landscaping and exterior of the building, which Kmart vacated in 2016. The AMERCO board will also need to decide whether to purchase or lease the property, Jones said.

AMERCO’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. Many of these projects include former Kmart stores. Last summer the company purchased a 103,977-square-foot vacant Kmart in Ammon, Idaho, which it plans to repurpose to indoor self-storage.

AMERCO is also the parent company of Oxford Life Insurance Co., Repwest Insurance Co. and Amerco Real Estate Co. Established in 1945, U-Haul owns more than 55 million square feet of storage space throughout North America.

Source:
Idaho State Journal, U-Haul Has Plans to Turn Vacant Pocatello Kmart Building Into Indoor Self-Storage Units