Storage units try to fit in with the landscape

That means owners are trying to put a more attractive face on storage facilities.

By JOE HUMPHREY

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 4, 2000

NEW TAMPA -- Ed Diaz spent more than three years fighting for the right to build a self-storage facility in New Tampa. Zoning officials were less than enthusiastic about adding a building that looked like a warehouse to the Bruce B. Downs Boulevard landscape.

Eventually, the county and Diaz compromised. He was allowed to build the facility last year, provided it was something other than a sprawling bank of garage doors.

"They wanted it to look nice," said Diaz, owner and manager of Spacesavers Storage at 14529 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., just north of Bearss Avenue.

Spacesavers looks more like an office building than a warehouse complex. Nearly 500 units, varying in size, are accessable only from inside the building, which is well lit and has windows. Each of the units is cooled to 77 degrees.

The business is one of several such storage centers that are opening in New Tampa, where apartments are hammered together in record time and deed restrictions make the garage a parking space for cars, not extra stuff.

More people with more stuff creates a need for somewhere to put it all. And that's a sticky situation in an area where single-family homes are the building of choice.

"There is no need for self storage in the middle of a residential community," said John Pluchino, an Arbor Greene resident who led a fight against plans for a storage facility near his home. Pluchino and others convinced developer Gene Thomason not to include a storage center in a 7.9-acre development off Cross Creek Boulevard.

Pluchino and his neighbors didn't mind new houses, offices and a day-care center. But they drew the line at another mini-warehouse complex. "One just opened at Bruce B. Downs and (Interstate) 75," Pluchino said. "We didn't want it. There was no need for it. There are other places people can go."

Those in the self-storage industry say they're trying to offer more attractive options. Many new centers, like Spacesavers, resemble unassuming office buildings. They are also using climate-controlled units to help lure those trying to store collectibles or sensitive records.

Plus, they said, there's plenty of business to go around.

"The economy is very strong and people have more stuff," said Brian Blankenship, assistant vice president for Metro Self Storage. Metro runs centers at 1402 E Bearss Ave. in Lutz and 28925 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel. The Illinois-based company also is opening a site this fall at Fletcher Avenue and 19th Street. There are other spots in north Tampa the company is also hoping to develop.

"The market is very hot," Blankenship said.

In addition to New Tampa's estimated 8,000 apartments, the development of new office space is also helping to fill storage space. At Spacesavers, Diaz said about 65 percent of his available space is filled.

Despite all the new centers, he expects business to catch up soon. "We're still waiting for a little more growth," he said.

- Contact Joe Humphrey at 226-3403 or humphrey@sptimes.com

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