Life Storage, Inc. announced today that it has completed the redevelopment of a former industrial building at 420 W. St. Paul Ave., near downtown Milwaukee and the Historic Third Ward, into a self-storage facility.
The seven-story, 124,245-square-foot building was originally constructed in 1918, according to city records. The building originally served as a warehouse for Boston Store before transitioning to a records storage warehouse in the ‘90s and, most recently, for enterprise information management services company Iron Mountain, according to Life Storage.
New Berlin-based Anderson Ashton was the general contractor for the redevelopment project.
In an effort to dramatically reduce the building’s energy footprint, the project included the installation of more than 500 LED light fixtures, 21 new HVAC units and the insulation and closure of over 100 exterior perforations, according to Life Storage.
“Restoring a century-old building of this size comes with its fair share of challenges,” said Brian Fisher, business development manager for Anderson Ashton. “Creating a modern storage facility while staying true to the aesthetics synonymous with the (nearby) Historic Third Ward was a struggle, but well worth it in the end.”
The facility now houses more than 1,000 climate controlled storage units, including over 250 smaller sized lockers built to serve the students of neighboring colleges.
The building features also include Wi-Fi access, surveillance and electronic access security systems, 24-hour key pad access, and two new elevators.
“We are so proud of this facility,” said Life Storage area manager for Milwaukee, Richard Green. It offers all the amenities of a state-of-the-art storage facility, and also retains the character of the downtown Milwaukee community.”
This is Life Storage’s second facility in Milwaukee. The other location is at 4565 N. Green Bay Ave.
Buffalo, New York-based Life Storage, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self-storage facilities. The company operates approximately 650 self-storage facilities in 29 states under the names Uncle Bob’s Self Storage and Life Storage.
