More than five years after Big Lots vacated the former Hills Plaza Shopping Center on Brainerd Road across from Chattanooga's airport, the retail complex has been revamped into one of the biggest storage facilities in Chattanooga.
The newly expanded CubeSmart storage complex includes 700 indoor, climate-controlled storage units within the 100,000-square-foot facility at 5952 Brainerd Road. Bernie Frogel, the former Chattanooga developer who now lives in Los Angeles, said he has invested more than $5 million into the Brainerd facility, which is now renting nearly twice as much space as when he first opened the storage facility a year ago.
Local CubeSmart storage facilities
› 5952 Brainerd Rd.› 5056 New Country Drive in Hixson› 600 Commercial Lane at the foot of Signal Mountain› 1346 Hickory Valley Road in Chattanooga
A former shopping center in Brainerd now houses a 100,000-square-foot CubeSmart storage facility with 700 indoor, climate-controlled storage units and outdoor, secured parking for more than 100 boats and recreational vehicles."When the airport changed direction and tore down all the retail across from us, Big Lots moved out and we were unable to find another retail client to take over the property," Frogel said Wednesday. "We had to think outside the box and come up with something compatible and in need in this area and storage seemed to be a good idea and, so far, it's worked out very well."
The new storage space is located in a former Dollar General store, which moved at the start of the year.
The initial storage space quickly leased up and now additional units are available, Frogel said. The property also includes 125 parking spaces within a fenced area to store boats, recreational vehicles and trucks. The Brainerd facility is one of four CubeSmart storage facilities in Chattanooga.
"With more than 40,000 vehicles a day on Brained Road, we think this facility is well located for both businesses and individuals," said Frogel, who first bought the property in 1995.
In addition to the climate-controlled and outdoor vehicle storage space, the facility offers loading docks for tractor trailer access, package receipt, free Wi-Fi and work stations for customers. A full line of shipping and storage boxes and moving supplies are also available for purchase and CubeSmart offers on-site Penske Truck Rentals for local and long distance moving.
Customers are able to rent storage units by visiting cubesmart.com, calling 1-800-800-1717, or visiting the onsite leasing office at 5952 Brainerd Road.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.