Investing in Lansing: U-Haul Reuse of Closed Kmart will Bring Benefits

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Jan 10, 2020, 16:13 ET

LANSING, Mich., Jan. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul® is unveiling details and the sustainability impact its adaptive reuse project would have at the closed Kmart® store at 5400 Cedar St. in Lansing.

The building, erected in 1970, was vacated in 2017. U-Haul is pursuing acquisition of the 9.38-acre property, which has been awaiting a permanent tenant.

U-Haul® is unveiling details and the sustainability impact its adaptive reuse project would have at the closed Kmart® store at 5400 Cedar St. in Lansing.

Adaptive reuse plans for the 119,791-square-foot building include about 800 indoor self-storage units, giving customers access to a variety of climate-controlled storage rooms with high-tech security features at affordable price points.

One of many ecofriendly site features will be a bike path connector and bike rest area where riders can utilize free tools and benches to service their cycles.

"U-Haul has been repurposing buildings for decades, and we are eager to bring our sustainable practice to Lansing," stated Jon Gilmore, U-Haul Company of Western Michigan president. "We have been working closely with the Lansing City Council and our neighbors to develop a site plan that's best for everyone."

U-Haul Storage at Jolly & Cedar will be managed by the longstanding U-Haul facility at 5020 S. Cedar. The new project will also offer customers a U-Haul Reuse Center – a redistribution area where gently used household items, furniture, sporting equipment, bikes and clothing can be donated and shared amongst the community.

By repurposing the former Kmart building, U-Haul will prevent the use of approximately 938 tons of metal manufacturing and transportation (the amount of steel used to make 945 passenger cars); avoid 6,008 tons of new concrete pours (enough to create 121 miles of concrete blocks); keep 10,727 tons of building and demolition debris out of landfills (avoiding 413 dump trucks traveling 8,664 miles); and stop 6,235,598 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere (the carbon emissions of 479 large SUVs or pickup trucks for one year).

"We don't want this building to become blight on South Lansing, and we have added much-needed green space to the property," Gilmore said. "Big-box stores offer a unique opportunity for U-Haul. We take these buildings, which are often vacant for years, and transform them into moving and self-storage facilities that revitalize the surrounding neighborhoods and business community. Approximately 70% of our existing facilities are the result of adaptive reuse."

Pursuit of this property is driven by U-Haul Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-building materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings.

Contact parent store U-Haul Moving & Storage at Jolly & Cedar at (517) 394-0075 or stop by to visit general manager James Powell and his team. Hours of operation are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks, 120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor
Jeff Lockridge
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 602-263-6981
Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-HAUL