Monday, September 18, 2017

Space Shop Scores Space in Chamblee for Self Storage

Christmas may come early to the residents of Chamblee as ToNeTo Atlanta has uncovered plans for a new self-storage facility in the city!  Atlanta-based The Space Shop plans to construct a new, nearly 100,000 square foot climate- controlled self-storage facility on Clairmont Road at Bragg Street, just north of Dresden Drive.  
Started in 2014 and owned by Atlanta based Stein Investment Group, Space Shop currently has eight facilities open (seven in Georgia and one in South Carolina) with a ninth under construction at Lenox Road and Buford Highway in Buckhead.  

The new Chamblee facility is slated to be three stories, with a basement, and would replace three existing structures on Clairmont Road and Bragg Street.   The facility will assume the 3693 Clairmont Road address.  

It's worth noting that the new Space Shop Chamblee will be located directly across the street from an existing Public Storage and around the corner from an independent self storage facility on Dresden Drive.  Also worth mentioning is that the new facility would open just north of the new RaceTrac currently under construction at the corner of Dresden Drive and Clairmont Road. 

Space Shop describes themselves as different than others.

"Space Shop Self Storage is your local self storage company in Atlanta, Georgia. Our storage facility is locally owned and operated and focuses on outstanding customer service. We believe in the special touches that can make your storage experience outstanding. From warm cookies and coffee to superior customer service, our modern storage facility provides a one-of-a-kind storage experience."
Rendering of The Space Shop Chamblee
Space Shop celebrated the Grand Opening of their new Snellville location last month with a community yard sale at the property.  The Snellville Space Shop is located at 2350 Ronald Reagan Parkway, near Scenic Highway, in the converted former home of AMF Snellville Lanes.  Strangely, the invitation to participate in the sale included the following verbiage "We are also looking for people to donate their time and supplies for the event, such as: Bounce, Food, Drinks, etc."  Knowing how profitable self-storage facilities are, it's amazing that the operators were looking for people to donate their time, goods and services to their opening.  

We noticed that the company's website provides links to their facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram pages.  It seemed unusual for a self-storage facility to maintain a presence on so many platforms.  The fact of the matter is: they don't. Their Facebook page was last updated January 5, 2017, they last tweeted January 16, 2015, and they shared an image on their Instagram account December 7th, 2014.  

As a rule of thumb, in any business, if you are going to create social media profiles, they should be maintained.

It's unclear when self-storage construction will slow, but an executive at Space Shop warned of least two headwinds facing his firm last year.  Earlier this year, in a post entitled "10 storage companies to watch in 2017," Cliff Hite, Vice President of operations for Space Shop, told SpareFoot Storage Beat that the biggest challenge(s) his firm faced in 2016 were rising construction costs and increasing new supply in overheated markets.  “Construction costs have elevated the overall cost of doing a new development to a point where conservative rental rate projections many times do not justify moving forward,” Hite said. Willingness to walk away from deals that are just “good” and waiting for ones that are “great” is critical to success.

Are you a Chamblee area resident or business owner in need of storage space?  Do you think the Chamblee area needs another self-storage facility?  What type of business would you like to see open in Chamblee?

Please share your thoughts below.

15 comments:

InAtl said...

I assume the Christmas coming early is sarcasm regarding this disappointing news. Does the reference it replacing 3 structures mean it is taking out Mint and the other shops next to the old repair shop shown in the picture? Very unfortunate.

CloseOTP said...

While I've only used a storage unit once in my life while I was selling a home and moving, clearly there is demand. I know people get all up in arms about new ones being built. Ideally, they would get built in more industrial areas instead of prime retail areas. That being said, if people will pay the higher rent at a self storage facility in a more convenient area, then they'll continue to be built in the more convenient area. Whether a Mattress Firm, self storage facility, or bank, if there is demand, they'll build. Economics and capitalism at work...

Anonymous said...

Wow - apparently there are a lot of hoarders in Chamblee!

Anonymous said...

So that makes three storage facilities currently under construction in Chamblee - this one, the one on Peachtree Blvd. near Walmart, and the one on Savoy Drive at Chamblee-Dunwoody. I guess they're anticipating that all the people moving into the new apartments will need someplace to put all their crap.

Indi said...

I only used a storage unit when I had to store my stuff somewhere when I was working in Boston. Even now I still think it was a stupid idea. I wish they would stop building these damn units.

Anonymous said...

I know I for one would enjoy the perk of eating warm cookies with dirty hands as I fill (or empty) my own luxurious storage unit.

Anonymous said...

Oh damn another storage unit! Why don't they just put a mattress firm next to it and call it a day!

Atlantan99 said...

@Eric,

Mint is safe from this redevelopment. The storage facility will mean the demolition of the auto-shop at the corner of Clairmont & Bragg, and two other structures down Bragg.

Thanks for your readership and comments!

Atlantan99 said...

Here are some interesting stats for anyone interested in the self storage market in Georgia.

https://www.sparefoot.com/Georgia-storage.html

Anonymous said...

According to The NY Times magazine, 1 out of every 10 Americans rents a self storage unit, so we're pretty much a nation of hoarders. CloseOTP is right, it's basic supply and demand.

CloseOTP said...

That graph proves the point. They're building more and more storage AND rents are at their peak. Those of us who read this blog may not be fans, but clearly there are fans out there...

Anonymous said...

Shut down the brick and mortar stores , buy online and hoard the crap you can't or refuse to pay shipping back to the retailers. You can't return it to a closed brick and mortar so we must have storage units to hoard our internet consumption items. LOL I bet every self storage unit has atleast one set of mattresses in it. Got to take a nap while at the unit, hoarding is hard work!

Anonymous said...

Never understood these places. When you move simply
call one of the junk haulers and in 30 minutes all your crap
is on a truck to a dump. What is it that these people are saving ?
Live lean - - have more fun and don't save worthless old teddy bears. Most people do not realize you do not even need a bed .. ..
it is a convenience only.

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget we sacrificed our sacred Varsity Jr. for a hoarders palace. Actually that would be a great name for a new Storage Facility, "Hoarders Palace".

Doug Bock said...

LOL!!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...