Sustaining South Phoenix: U-Haul to Reuse Old Kmart on Baseline

PHOENIX, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul® will soon offer a contemporary self-storage facility at 336 E. Baseline Road thanks to the acquisition of a former Kmart® store.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Mountain is currently operating out of a temporary showroom and offering truck and trailer sharing and moving supplies. The Kmart closed in 2016 and the building has remained vacant for over two years.

Once the 86,479-square-foot building is renovated, it will feature self-storage units with indoor climate-control and high-tech security. Much more will soon be available on the 8.74-acre lot including: towing equipment and professional hitch installation; propane; U-Haul Remote 24/7® access; a U-Haul Re-Use center for gently used household furnishings; and the Take A Box, Leave A Box program.

"The South Mountain community is beautiful. It doesn't deserve to have empty buildings sitting around and becoming outdated," stated Joe Krueger, U-Haul Company of Southwestern Arizona president. "We're very pleased to make our community look more welcoming while also serving the moving and storage needs of our neighbors."

Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Mountain at (623) 209-7357 or stop by to see our progress. Store hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

The recent acquisition of the South Mountain facility was driven by U-Haul Company's Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. Our 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.

By repurposing the former Kmart, U-Haul prevented the use of 973 tons of metal manufacturing and transportation (the amount of steel used to make 981 passenger cars); avoided 4,749 tons of new concrete pours (enough to create 96 miles of concrete blocks); kept 5,830 tons of construction and demolition debris out of landfills (avoiding 224 dump trucks traveling 4,709 miles); and stopped 5,817,252 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere (the carbon emissions of 446 large SUVs or pickup trucks for one year).

When the location is fully operational, Krueger expects to employ at least 10 Team Members. U-Haul will look to hire locally to promote job growth in the South Phoenix area.

U-Haul International has been headquartered in Phoenix since 1967.

The arrival of U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 is revolutionizing the moving industry through its more convenient, more secure way to pick up and return a truck. U-Haul live verification technology allows rental transactions to be carried out entirely on a smartphone at any hour – day or night. There are no membership fees. Simply visit uhaul.com to create an online account.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 now offers customers access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the self-service options on their internet-connected mobile devices. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than 51 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