Farmington Hills firm turns vacant school into state-of-the-art self storage business

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

When one reads the phrase “state-of-the-art,” self-storage units probably aren’t the first thing to come to mind. But in Grand Rapids, one self storage company offers not only high-tech security against theft, but also climate controls, secure indoor loading docks and live-in managers who reside in an apartment within the building.

Farmington Hills-based Pogoda Companies recently cut the ribbon on phase one of the National Storage Center of Grand Rapids, a renovation of the former Grand Rapids Technical High School at 1263 Ball Ave, NE into 400 storage units and 50,000-square-feet of net rentable space. A future phase two will add another 33,000 of net rentable space.

“National Storage is in Michigan and Ohio, but our primary focus is Michigan,” says owner Maurice Pogoda. “We came to Grand Rapids because we look for retail settings in neighborhoods tenants can reach us very easily, and this was one of those unusual locations you don’t come across often.”

The building, originally built as a department store, then converted to a school, now boasts National Storage Center’s distinctive signature cupola: a 15-foot-tall reproduction of the United States Capitol dome.

The inside storage units range from 50 to 300 square feet and most are accessed from interior hallways. Two covered loading areas accommodate three vehicles at a time. Drive-up units along the building’s perimeter have roll-up doors and run from 300 square feet to 20-feet by 30-feet, a size Pogoda says is in demand by small contractors who use these larger spaces for inventory storage.

Pogoda expects to break ground on phase two in mid to late 2009.

Source: Maurice Pogoda, Pogoda Companies

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.