The Santini Family of Arlington, Mass., whose history in the Boston suburb dates back to the early 1990s, has converted its 50-year-old building at 12 Brattle Court into a new a self-storage facility. Arlington Self Storage features climate control, video cameras, a retail area for packing and moving supplies, and U-Haul truck rentals.
Built in 1965, the building has been home to a fence-building company, an ambulance company and a sprinkler-system business, said co-owner Gregg Santini, who operates the facility with his brother, cousin, father and uncle. The storage facility preserves a piece of local history while being environmentally conscious, according to a press release by U-Haul International Inc., who applauded the project for recycling the structure and minimizing the use of construction materials.
The Santinis opened their first business, a construction firm, in 1921. The family has been involved in the community for several generations. “I am the fourth generation in the Santini family business. I like working at Arlington Self Storage because I am able to meet people in the area that I wouldn't meet otherwise, and I find their stories interesting,” Santini said.
U-Haul is a staunch supporter of and participant in green initiatives, having opened several self-storage conversions projects over the past year, according to the release. The company launched a corporate sustainability program to support infill development and help local communities lower their carbon footprint. U-Haul’s adaptive reuse of existing buildings 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 International Inc. has more than 40 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,000 owned and managed facilities throughout North America.
