U-Haul to open retail store, self-storage facility and storage container warehouse in EC

Do-it-yourself movers looking to move their furniture, appliances and other belongings will soon have a new retail location to rent the equipment to do it.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Elizabeth City is constructing two large buildings on 18.6 acres off Hastead Boulevard Extended, one of which will be a retail, moving and self-storage facility.

“One building will be our primary retail and indoor self-storage center; the other will be a secure warehouse to store U-Box portable moving and storage containers,” said Jeff Lockridge, U-Haul manager of media and public relations.

Plans for the property, which U-Haul purchased in January, call for a three-story building of more than 100,000 square feet. The store will offer 700-plus indoor, self-storage rooms with climate-control options and high-tech security features.

The retail center will also offer a retail showroom, truck and trailer sharing, boxes and moving supplies, towing equipment, professional hitch installation, U-Box portable storage containers and more.

According to Lockridge, the U-Box warehouse is the building whose construction is furtherest along; plans are for it to be completed in September. The retail, moving and self-storage center is expected to be completed early next year, he said.

Samanta Hopkins, U-Haul Company of Tidewater president, said in a press release that U-Haul determined, after looking at growth and economic trends, that “the DIY movers in this region” needed a full-service U-Haul retail store. She noted that U-Haul’s closest full-service store to Elizabeth City is currently 37 miles away in Chesapeake, Virginia.

“Elizabeth City is a growing community with a great atmosphere,” Hopkins said. “Housing prices here are reasonable, so the area is attractive. People will always need residential mobility. That’s where U-Haul comes in. We look forward to expanding our footprint and the number of families we can serve in Pasquotank County.”

When construction of the store nears completion, the company plans to hire locally for a number positions, U-Haul said in the press release. The company said it actively recruits veterans and gives them hiring preferences, noting it’s been honored as a “Best for Vets” veterans-friendly employer by The Military Times.

U-Haul noted in the release that while the store is being built U-Haul dealers around the Elizabeth City area are still available for DIY movers to use. The company said it’s partnered with independent dealers to offer rental moving equipment since 1945.