U-Haul at Southgate to Introduce Self-Storage at Grand Opening

URBANA, Ill., Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --U-Haul® will host a grand-opening event Oct. 17 to showcase its contemporary indoor self-storage facility at 2010 S. Philo Road, site of the former Southgate Shopping Center.

Urbana residents and media attending the festivities can take a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility. There will be a complimentary lunch, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, giveaways and other activities. The event runs from noon to 2 p.m.

"This building was becoming an eyesore, and we are excited to reveal the hard work we put into revitalizing it," said Aaron Freeman, U-Haul Company of Illinois president. "We are introducing our top-of-the-line self-storage facility and our new U-Haul Track Share 24/7 self-service options. Our neighbors in Urbana have longed for an easy, online experience and we are happy to provide that."

U-Haul Moving & Storage at Southgate opened in a limited capacity in July 2016, offering truck and trailer sharing, U-Box portable containers and moving supplies. Then the real work began. More than one year of cleanup and construction yielded a renovated 55,711-square-foot structure with more than 600 self-storage units. The facility offers U-Haul Remote 24/7® access, high-tech security features and more.

Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage at Southgate at (217) 903-4803 or stop by to visit general manager Amanda Thomas and her 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.

The acquisition of the Urbana facility was driven by U-Haul Company's 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-construction materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings.

By repurposing the former Southgate Shopping Center, U-Haul prevented the use of 263 tons of metal manufacturing and transportation (the same amount of steel used to make 265 passenger cars); avoided 3,801 tons of new concrete pours (enough to create 77 miles of concrete blocks); kept 4,125 tons of construction and demolition debris out of landfills (avoiding 159 dump trucks traveling 3,332 miles in total); and stopped 2.59 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere (the same carbon emissions of 199 large SUVs or pickup trucks for one year).

"Our sustainability mission speaks volumes," Freeman said. "This is the air that our children and grandchildren will be breathing, so it's important to protect it. I'm so proud of what we were able to do with this conversion. Seeing the building transformed from an outdated, dilapidated state to a modern facility is inspiring. We can't wait to serve Urbana for years to come."

The arrival of U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 is modernizing the moving industry by offering self-service and live verify technology to enhance customer and community safety. This technology allows for the self-pick-up and self-return of U-Haul trucks to be done entirely by smartphone at any hour – day or night. Membership is free once customers create an account on uhaul.com.

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