Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. has converted a former manufacturing facility in Williamsport, Pa., into a self-storage facility. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Williamsport at 288 Penn St. officially opened on Aug. 19, a year after the company acquired the building. The 2.8-acre property includes a 53,383-square-foot building with 520 interior storage units. The storage business also offers moving supplies, propane, towing equipment, truck rental, U-Box portable-storage containers and more.
The former site of the Eureka Paper Box Co. is just a few blocks from Lycoming College and near Interstate 180, according to a U-Haul press release. Williamsport is also known as the birthplace of Little League Baseball, and hosts the Little League World Series each summer.
"We are excited U-Haul has taken the building and renovated it into a modern facility, as it will serve the needs of our citizens," said Williamsport Mayor Gabriel Campana. "Throughout the process, U-Haul leaders have been very cooperative with our economic team, and we wish them luck."
U-Haul had been operating a truck-rental service at a former gas station nearby since the early 1980s, according to Paul Garbacz, general manager. "As the community has grown due to the natural-gas industry, we have broadened our services to meet the more transient workforce. Having state-of-the-art, climate-controlled storage to offer the community is exciting."
The acquisition of the Williamsport property was driven by U-Haul’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, according to the release. 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.
