U-Haul Store in Champaign Closed after 33 Years to Make Way for New Facility

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U-Haul facility in Champaign ceases operations, to be replaced by a new self-storage facility. 15 Team Members will be let go. The new location will offer 1,500 self-storage units and better serve the expanding student population. Prior to the new store, customers can find services at a nearby location. U-Haul continues to explore growth opportunities and partner with independent dealers.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U-Haul facility at 306 E. University in Champaign ceased operations on Sept. 24. It had served the do-it-yourself moving public since 1990.

U-Haul plans to maintain ownership of the property and level the existing building. A five-story state-of-the-art self-storage facility with an accompanying U-Box® warehouse will be built in its place. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Fifteen Team Members will be let go due to the closing of the current store.

"The existing U-Haul center on University is an older building that limits what we can do with space and design," said Kevin Barringer, U-Haul Company of Illinois president. "The new location will be a huge improvement, offering 1,500 self-storage units and more access to residential mobility. Our goal is to better serve the expanding student population and our neighbors in Champaign."

U-Haul at University Ave. is less than a mile from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.

Prior to the new store being built, customers can find a full line of moving and self-storage products and services just two miles away at 2020 Glenn Park, a leased space where U-Haul is now offering truck and trailer rentals, boxes and moving supplies, towing equipment and more. Reserve equipment on the U-Haul app or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

Local U-Haul Companies are always exploring opportunities for growth as they pursue means to better serve the needs of customers, but sometimes find it necessary to close or relocate stores, shops and offices. Reasons for closures can include: long-term strategic plans; safety and security concerns; physical site conditions and limitations; shifts in demographics; availability of local Team Members; trends in migration; expansion of the U-Haul neighborhood dealer network; proximity to other new or existing Company locations; and external factors.

U-Haul dealers in and around Champaign continue to be available to serve DIY movers. U-Haul has partnered with independent dealers to provide communities with accessible mobility since 1945. During these challenging times, more than 21,000 small businesses across the U.S. and Canada are generating supplemental income by partnering with U-Haul. When customers rent from their local U-Haul dealers, they are directly supporting small businesses in their community. Because there is no financial investment from dealers, they are not U-Haul franchises. They are simply small businesses with enough lot space to park U-Haul equipment and enough time to welcome more customers while meeting the mobility needs of their neighbors. Learn how to partner with U-Haul at uhaul.com/dealer.

About U-HAUL  

Founded in 1945, U-Haul is the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers with more than 23,000 rental locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The enhanced U-Haul app makes it easier for customers to use U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 to access trucks anytime through the self-dispatch and self-return options on their smartphones through our patented Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to 192,200 trucks, 138,500 trailers and 44,500 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America with 959,000 rentable units and 82.3 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the top retailer of propane in the U.S. and the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. We were recently named one of America's Best Large Employers (Forbes, 2023); a Best for Vets Employer (Military Times, 2022); and one of the Healthiest Workplaces in America (Healthiest Employers, 2022). Find careers at uhauljobs.com. Get the U-Haul app from the App Store or Google Play.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor
Jeff Lockridge
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-263-6194
Website: uhaul.com

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SOURCE U-Haul