LIFE STORAGE FACILITY
Space is in short supply in New York City, especially in Manhattan. LSC Development, headquartered out of Buffalo, New York, operates thousands of storage facilities across the country. Along with our architect partners at SGW, this experienced client commissioned Millies Engineering Group to assist in reformatting an existing structure, taking advantage of verticality to address the extreme demand for space.
Life Storage has all the traditional amenities of a city storage facility, with a few other perks to entice customers. In addition to multiple unit sizes for individual clients, this facility was outfitted to support business needs in the area. With a heated loading bay, capable of handling 20 foot trucks, our firm needed to address the needs of business clients aiming to store important physical equipment assets.
The facility has been extremely successful - garnering an impressive 4.9/5 stars from 275 reviewers. A common theme in the praise regards the staff, no doubt benefitting from top of the line customer service in a city famously short-tempered. The built environment Millies Engineering Group designed with SGW Architecture received positive attention as well. Specifically, customers noted the facility as efficient, well-lit, and reasonably priced. It’s no secret energy efficiency in particular improves the financial margin of a business like Life Storage, which enables more competitive prices to potential customers.
Manhattan is certainly one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world, and one of the requests by our client LSC Development was to ensure the Life Storage facility would benefit from the extensive codes, regulations, and zoning in the area. Additionally, the structure itself needed to be designed in a way which allowed for easy conversion into something completely different. After all, a built environment at this scale needs to be quickly altered if the owner decides to sell.
Featuring an interior parking garage and 24/7 cameras, the final design needed to include safety - both of possessions and people - as a key priority. No doubt, the combination of an affordable, safe storage venue with standout customer service has proved a winning recipe since the facility opened.
Though buildings like this can have a reputation as being a bit mundane, they provide an essential service to the local community, especially one as cramped as Midtown Manhattan. With options to store possessions affordably long-term, Life Storage makes an indirect, positive impact on the issue of pollution and waste in New York City. With looming cuts to sanitation taking effect in 2024, it’s our firms hope that projects like these enable people to reuse things, rather than leave them out on the sidewalk.
