John W. Messmore is a Central Ohio entrepreneur—and pioneer— in the consumer storage industry. He develops, owns and maintains several local garage-style personal storage facilities. U-Store & Sell was an original concept & prototype for vehicle, watercraft, RV, motorcycle and equipment storage, with associated showrooms & sales facilities. (It’s also the place where Mr. Messmore could consolidate, enjoy and just “show off” his large collection of classic, restored Chevrolets.)
Challenges
A New Concept & Facility Prototype
This prototype facility was built on undeveloped land in Columbus’ west side. The site had a natural drainage swale, requiring a total redirect to make the location suitable for this development. This was a prototype concept. After extensive market research—and experience from other ventures—Mr. Messmore hoped the facility would be the seed for similar venues throughout the country. We were hired as consultants to provide site supervision & manage subcontracts.
Features
Spacious Storage & Sales Facility—For All Types of Vehicles
40,000 square foot pre-engineered metal building
All-metal siding, roofing and associated components for durability, attractive appearance and ease of maintenance
Numerous storage bays and storerooms for the different types of vehicles, including automobiles, boats and other watercraft, vans and recreational vehicles and equipment
Complete Showroom and Point-of-Sale (POS) facilities
1.5 acre parking lot on 2.6 acre site
24-Hour Access
Results
A True “Vehicle Destination”
The finished facility is well ahead of its time. Although the concept was slow to catch on, this is aconsumer vehicle destination and a “working” prototype for similar ventures.
J. W. Messmore & Associates selected MCR as the C.M. for the work based primarily on the responsiveness of our project staff. We were willing to work with them and manage the subtrades as they contracted for the work—all while developing the business model for like facilities in the future.
