Buildings shun eyesore reputation and end up looking more like hotels than warehouses

looking more like hotels than warehouses

HONOLULU - Even storing your stuff in Hawaii can be upscale, as the newest self-storage facilities resemble small resorts and hotels on some of the islands' priciest real estate. With 24-hour access, air-conditioned hallways, fancy business centers and WiFi Internet, storage companies are catering to customers as the industry becomes more competitive.

A StorSecure outlet, designed to blend in with the lush green mountains, sits near the eastern shores of Oahu next to multimillion-dollar homes and expensive boats. Hawaii Self Storage recently spent $250,000 to install a clock tower and Hawaiian mosaics to overlook the island's busiest highway. And Public Storage has constructed a flashy facility on a high-rent downtown corner with space for retail shops to operate on the ground floor.

"We really wanted to become part of the neighborhood," said Annette Pang, vice president of marketing for Honolulu-based StorSecure. "The last thing we wanted to do was become an eyesore or diminish the value of these beautiful homes."

Self-storage is a booming $21 billion business nationwide that has nearly doubled the space for rent during the past decade, with one in every 11 households renting space in nearly 50,000 self-storage outlets nationwide - including about 3,000 new sites that opened last year.

The growth is easy to see on the space-scarce islands of Hawaii. As of March there were 73 outlets, or 2.76 square feet of self-storage per person, well below the national average. But with eight recently built facilities and at least another dozen storage operations planned, the rapid growth of these facilities in Hawaii has outpaced the national growth.

Once identified with ugly warehouselike eyesores, storage companies are now designed to meet community architectural standards as they pop up in prime residential areas and in the midst of busy retail complexes, said Mike Scanlon, president of the Virginia-based Self Storage Association.

Regardless of the architecture, hidden inside the flashy exteriors are thousands of locked spaces - in sizes from mailboxes to roomy garages.

They hold overflow inventory and files from local businesses, stacks of aging boxes and furniture saved from family deaths or divorce and collections of stuff too big to fit into cramped condos or tropical houses that often have no attics, basements or garages.

Hawaii is a great area for growth of self-storage businesses, with nearly no residential basements, expensive homes and a plethora of new compact condos. Plus, many residents have kayaks, canoes, surfboards and other bulky watersports equipment.

Mostly because of high land costs, storage space in Hawaii rents for an average of $3 per square foot per month, while nationally space averages less than a dollar.

In Hawaii Kai, a seaside district in eastern Oahu, a new tan and green StorSecure Self-Storage facility blends in with its surroundings.

People often confuse the new four-story, 120,000-square-foot facility with a hotel. Owners spent nearly half a year working with neighbors who had feared the building would downgrade the neighborhood, Pang said.

Now outside lights dim at night to accommodate the turtles dwelling in the marina.

One Public Storage facility in Honolulu features a women's apparel store on its streetside ground floor, and two other storefronts are under construction.

Hawaii Self Storage built the giant clock tower at its newest $13.7 million, four-story, 171,000-square-foot site across the street from an imposing six-story Public Storage business - one of 2,100 locations owned by the Glendale, Calif., company.

With more competition in Honolulu, the newest facilities have introduced 24-hour access, dehumidification technology to prevent mold and mildew, and advanced security systems. Many operations also hold incoming shipments for customers, a major incentive for businesses.

Nine scholarships of $1,000 available

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii Self Storage is accepting applications from high school students for its college scholarship program. The company will offer nine qualified O'ahu public high school students $1,000 scholarships renewable annually for up to $4,000 toward their college education.

Deadline for applications is Feb. 15. To qualify, students must be graduating seniors from one of the following high schools: 'Aiea, Farrington, Pearl City, Kaimuki, Kapolei, Mililani, Moanalua, Radford or Waipahu. Students must be accepted into or enrolled in a degree program at an accredited two- or four-year college or university and plan to enroll with a minimum of 12 credits per semester. To renew the scholarship, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 a year.

Hawaii Self Storage Offers 2007 College Scholarship Program.

Hawaii Self Storage of Honolulu, owned by MW Group Ltd., is accepting applications for its annual college scholarship program. The company will award nine qualified O'ahu public high school students $1,000 scholarships, which are renewable annually for up to $4,000 toward their college education.

To participate, students must submit the required application form and essay to Hawaii Self Storage by Feb. 15, 2007. To qualify, they must be graduating seniors from one of the following high schools: 'Aiea, Farrington, Kaimuki, Kapolei, Mililani, Moanalua, Pearl City, Radford or Waipahu. Students must be accepted into or enrolled in a degree program at an accredited two- or four-year college or university and sustain a minimum of 12 credits per semester. To renew the scholarship, they must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

Self-storage firm offers college scholarships

Tomorrow is the deadline for applications for nine $1,000 college scholarships offered by Hawaii Self Storage.

Students must be from one of nine eligible high schools, including Aiea, Farrington, Pearl City, Kaimuki, Kapolei, Mililani, Moanalua, Radford or Waipahu.

The scholarships can be renewed for two years toward an associate degree and up to four years for a bachelor's degree as long as the student maintains a cumulative minimum grade-point average of 3.0 each year.

To qualify for the scholarship, students must be Hawaii residents who have been accepted to a recognized degree program at an accredited two- or four-year institution of higher education. They must also be enrolled full time.

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