U-Haul Reveals Plans for Newest Company-Owned Facility in Southern Louisiana

HOUMA, La. (May 16, 2018) — U-Haul® will soon be showcasing a modern self-storage and self-move facility in southern Louisiana thanks to the recent acquisition of a former Kmart® store at 133 Monarch Drive in Houma.

U-Haul acquired the 100,860-square-foot building on March 8. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Houma has opened a temporary showroom and is currently offering truck and trailer sharing, towing equipment, moving supplies and U-Box portable moving and storage containers.

Adaptive reuse of the existing property will render approximately 900 indoor self-storage units, including climate-controlled rooms with high-tech security features at affordable price points. Propane and professional hitch installation will also be offered in the near future on the 9.08-acre lot.

“This building has been vacant for more than two years and we are eager to put our adaptive reuse program to use in Bayou Country,” said Patrick Allen, U-Haul Company of Southern Louisiana president. “Many times, when large box stores like this close, they stay dark for a long time and fall into disrepair. Our reuse of this building will be great for U-Haul, the environment and this community.”

Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage of Houma at (985) 868-5224 or stop by to visit general manager Angel Willis 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.

U-Haul will look to hire locally to promote job growth within the Houma community. Allen expects to maintain a staff of 10 or more Team Members when the facility is fully operational. U-Haul always encourages local contractors to bid on renovation work.

The recent acquisition of the Houma property 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 building, U-Haul prevented the use of 365 tons of metal manufacturing and transportation (the amount of steel used to make 368 passenger cars); avoided 5,773 tons of new concrete pours (enough to create 117 miles of concrete blocks); kept 6,181 tons of building and demolition debris out of landfills (avoiding 238 dump trucks traveling 4,992 miles); and stopped 3,796,396 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere (the carbon emissions of 291 large SUVs or pickup trucks for one year).

“We’re still in the planning phases with this project and are working closely with city officials and our neighbors,” Allen said. “Southern Louisiana is booming again, and we are excited to bring our self-move and self-storage products and services to Houma.”

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.

For self-movers who aim to keep their costs low but need extra hands to help with their move, MovingHelp.com has been successfully pairing customers with reliable Moving Help® Service Providers for more than a decade. The online marketplace lets customers shop and compare local moving companies that provide labor services including: loading and unloading, packing and unpacking, cleaning, and U-Box pick up/delivery. Unedited customer reviews, transparent pricing and payment release subject to customer approval have led to 93 percent of Moving Help users rating their experience four stars or higher.

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: publicrelations@uhaul.com

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com