Rite-Away Relocatable Self-Storage Units Enhance Profitability
Just as portable classrooms assist local school districts in dealing with temporary overcrowding and maximizing land use, many self-storage operators are discovering the various benefits of using relocatable units to maximize profits.
Municipalities typically can allow portable self-storage units to be located over utility easements and water, gas and sewer lines because the buildings can be easily moved. This also enables cities to accommodate more storage capacity per square mile and the lessening of urban sprawl, giving government officials an incentive to approve portables.
At the Stor-All New Orleans, owner Mike Maguire added 61 state-of-the-art Rite-Away relocateable self-storage units manufactured by US Door & Building Components.
Stor-All New Orleans is familiar with complying with tight local government regulations. In the mid-1990s, Maguire and Stor-All New Orleans renovated two historical city properties that were originally built in the 1800s in the Tchoupitoulas and Gentilly Woods sections of New Orleans.
One building was a former cotton mill on the Mississippi River and the other was a former Sears Mall & Woolworth building. The resulting renovations to the building exteriors provided additional value to the business while enhancing the aesthetics of the community.
Between the two properties, about 221,000 square feet of self-storage were created in more than 2,000 units. These buildings are in the same neighborhood as Tulane and Loyola universities near the French Quarter, where local authorities are sensitive to major changes in the buildings.
Yet, Maguire and his partner gained passage of their restoration plans. They have a 20-year track record of developing and managing self-storage, and own 18 facilities and more than 30 commercial properties.
Following the conversion project, U.S. Door's professional staff was able to show the owner how relocateable units can add immediate profits with minimal up front costs.
"I was very satisfied at the potential the US Door relocatables gave me to maximize my return on land that otherwise could not support a fixed self-storage structure," Maguire said.
The Rite-Away units are manufactured from hot-dipped galvanized steel with a standard self-storage structural pier and header system. The relocateable buildings come in lightstone tan or satin white (polar white). The doors and trim are available in 22 pre-finished colors. The roofs are sloped at 1/4:12 inch, and have leak proof screw downs. The roof can withstand 50 pound snow load and a 125 psf floor load. Windloads up to 130 mph can be obtained with simple tie downs.
Doors can be placed on any side of the buildings giving flexibility to the owner on the site layout. The highly specialized US Door & Building Component engineers will produce plans for the best and most profitable configuration. Portable buildings can be grouped side-to-side or back-to-back in a custom arrangement.
The Rite-Away units vary in size from 8 feet by 20 feet to 13 feet by 30 feet for site-specific custom needs of the storage tenant. Each building can contain from one unit to 12 units. Options include: wind load tie downs for 130 mph, and custom gutters and down spouts.
The owner can choose to have US Door install the Rite-Away units. Or, the owner can assemble the units with a level, tape measure and common tools. Each building has optional adjustable feet and can be placed on any load bearing material. This built-in feature also allows the units to be installed on minimally sloped lots and driveways.
"Mike is just one of the success stories we are hearing about across the country and internationally," US Door Vice President Charles "Chip" Cordes said. "We expect the trend in relocatable self-storage units to accelerate as the land for self-storage becomes a premium."
According to Cordes, Rite-Away units can also be used to start a small self-storage operation before fully immersing themselves in a business with fixed buildings.
The Rite-Away units can enhance businesses with odd-shaped or uneven plots of land, including unstable ground that cannot take a permanent foundation or be excavated for budgetary reasons. Some landowners use portables on empty lots until ground is broken on a building project to create a temporary source of income.
Land where relocatable units are installed can offer maintenance cost savings because gravel lots will not have to be sprayed with pesticides where weeds would normally sprout.
Rite-Away units are ideal on abandoned industrial or commercial sites because paving, lighting and fencing often has already been installed on vacant industrial sites, former car dealerships or freight terminals.
The use of Rite-Away units is not limited to the self-storage business. Residential communities, construction sites, transportation hubs, utilities, pharmaceutical, retail establishments, agricultural, horse breeding stables and marinas, can utilize relocatable units.
The Rite-Away relocatable units are just one of many innovations by Maguire to increase customer satisfaction. He also offers free use of a moving van for first time tenants moving in to a certain size unit. There is antiques storage, and units designed specifically for fine vintage wines kept at a constant humidity and temperature level.
Security enhancements at Stor-All New Orleans include state-of-the-art fire and heat sensors. Other features include: video surveillance, seven-day-a-week access, and special RV, boat and classic car parking. "We tell people we are the safest move in New Orleans," Maguire said. "With this and our ongoing, periodic enhancements, our facility sells itself."
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Project:
Stor-All New Orleans
Building Owner:
Mike Maquire
Location:
New Orleans, LA
Manufacturer:
US Door & Building Components
Systems:
Relocatable Storage Units
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