Real Estate: New U-Haul Facility a Reflection of Keene’s Growth

KEENE, N.H. (Sept. 16, 2020) — U-Haul® is repurposing a former beverage distribution center to provide Keene with a full-service moving and self-storage facility at 472 Winchester St.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Keene will present customers with truck and trailer sharing, indoor climate-controlled storage units, U-Box® portable storage containers, towing equipment, professional hitch installation, propane and much more.

A new retail showroom will feature hitch accessories, specialty boxes, tape, propane tanks, bike racks and additional moving supplies. A U-Haul Re-Use center for gently used household goods to be shared amongst the community will be available on site, as well as the ecofriendly Take A Box, Leave A Box program.

U-Haul acquired the 34,304-square-foot building, former site of Clarke Distributors, Inc., on Aug. 26.

“Our goal is to provide the community with residential mobility and a clean, secure facility for storing their belongings,” said Jerry Ouellette, U-Haul Company of Western Massachusetts & Vermont president. “This is a convenient and accessible location for our neighbors in and around Keene. We’re eager to get to work on this reuse project.”

The 30,172-square-foot main building was originally constructed in the mid-1960s. Several additions have been made over the years. A smaller maintenance building was added in 1975.

Acquisition of the 7.51-acre property was 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.

While U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Keene is being renovated, nearby U-Haul facilities and neighborhood dealers are available to serve customers. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Keene at 199 Marlboro St is open 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.

Ouellette plans to hire 15 Team Members to staff the South Keene facility. U-Haul will look to hire locally to support job growth within the Keene community. Veterans receive preference in the hiring process. Find U-Haul career opportunities at uhauljobs.com.

“Keene is moving in the right direction and we’re thankful for the opportunity to be part of this growth,” Ouellette added. “More people are moving to Keene every day and our expansion is fundamental. Growing populations equate to more self-move and self-storage needs. And as a college town, Keene is always fluctuating and busy.”

As an essential service provider, U-Haul has remained open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak while offering contactless programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people’s homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and countless other dependent groups, in addition to the household mover. Please visit uhaul.com/announcement for more information on how U-Haul is keeping its Team Members and customers safe.

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 176,000 trucks, 127,000 trailers and 41,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 774,000 rentable storage units and 66.7 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: publicrelations@uhaul.com

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com