Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. is converting a former furniture and appliance store in De Pere, Wis., to self-storage. U-Haul Moving & Storage of De Pere at 1180 Mid Valley Drive officially opened on Aug. 24. It currently offers hitch installation and towing equipment, moving and packing supplies, truck and trailer rentals, and U-Box portable-storage containers. Renovations are underway to add a new showroom and a second floor featuring 1,000 climate-controlled storage units, according to a company press release. Propane sales will also soon be available.
The building formerly housed Furniture & ApplianceMart as well as other furniture businesses. The original building includes 60,000 square feet of space on 4.6 acres. The property is along Interstate 41, south of the Main Avenue exit and near St. Norbert College, private, Catholic, liberal-arts college.
"We are excited to serve the families in the De Pere and Lawrence areas. We are occupying a building that in the past several years had many tenants," said Vily Xiong, general manager. "Customer feedback has been exceptional," added Justin Kaminski, president of the U-Haul Co. of Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. "We cannot get enough product to serve the demand of a community that was previously underserved. Customers are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the climate-controlled storage units."
The opening of the De Pere property 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.
