Last September I wrote an article about self-storage and the green movement. Although there are few applications of sustainability in the storage industry, there are a more companies making the effort to be more green-friendly.
An article on one of the companies I profiled came across my desk this morning. Hall Street Storage in Brooklyn, N.Y., has taken its green initiative to a whole new level. The name of the facility, considered the first self-storage to be "green," has been changed to iStoreGreen. Now plans are underway for expansion in nearby Manhattan and into other cities across the nation.
Being a green facility aside, the entire project is an interesting story. The former cold-storage building was converted into an 80,000-square-foot self-storage facility last summer by owner Jeffery Sitt. The construction crew was able to preserve or recycle much of the facility's original marterials, including wood and the brick facade. In addition, the facility uses renewable energy and has a solar water heater. The attached retail store also offers green products.
When I interviewed Sitt last summer, he was sincere about his desire to build a "green" facility. Yes, he was looking for a way to stand out from other facilities in the area, but he also wanted to help the environment.
Since the story ran, Sitt has also opened a “reuse” room for tenants who want to offer items for donation instead of just throwing stuff in the dumpster.
The name change was a natural progression, Sitt says in the article. “There’s been green dry cleaning and even green wines available today—self-storage needs to be greened, too, especially since it’s an industry that can use a lot of energy and materials, and is one which people use every day, not a few times a week. It needs to be accessible.”
The project is Sitt's first self-storage facility. I hope he builds many more.