Tim Harty, The Business Times 

Guardian Storage didn’t need to say a thing to express its belief that Grand Junction had room for another large, personal-storage facility.

Instead, it showed it, as its confidence about entering the Grand Junction market is on display at 640 24 1/2 Road. That’s where it built a complex with six buildings, housing a variety of storage-unit sizes that add up to about 85,000 rentable square feet, including drive-up, climate-controlled drive-up and interior climate-controlled storage. The unit sizes range from 5-feet-by-5-feet to 10-feet-by-30-feet.

Guardian Storage Director of Marketing Candice Puzak wrote in an email interview that Guardian found the Grand Junction market appealing for many reasons, including “a historic and vibrant downtown, a growing university, redevelopment and apartment growth, attractive for young remote workers and retirees, drawn to the access of more affordable living than the Denver metro area, world-class recreation and great weather.”

Puzak said Guardian Storage identified a lack of “quality Class A self-storage options” in the Grand Valley. According to Inside Self Storage’s website, www.insideselfstorage.com, Class A self-storage facilities are “newer, with modern designs, premium amenities and very strong curb appeal. They’re also associated with five-star customer service and sophisticated security systems. These properties are often found in prime locations and along major thoroughfares.”

Building the Guardian facility on 24 1/2 Road meets that location qualification.

“First and foremost, we want to be where people live, shop and work,” Puzak said, “and the proximity to the Mesa Mall and the multifamily development is appealing. Nearly all of the self storage in Grand Junction today is industrial zoned/located product. Self storage is a retail business. People want their self storage to be close to where they live and shop and to feel like it’s a very safe place to be whenever they visit. Our location checks all the boxes.”

She added the proximity to F 1/2 Road and the extension of the road that is taking place will funnel more people by Guardian’s site, and “visibility is very important to the success of our business.”

In addition to being a newly built facility, Guardian Storage differentiates itself with its self-storage offerings. Puzak said the existing storage properties in Grand Junction tend to fit one of two categories: long-established local operators; and truck-rental companies that also rent units.

“What the valley didn’t have much of was a purpose-built, climate-controlled property run on the systems of an established multi-state company but staffed by a manager who lives here,” she wrote. “That’s the gap we built into.

“Most storage in the Grand Valley is uninsulated, metal drive-up, which is hard on wood, leather and paper in a place that hits a hundred degrees with almost no humidity. So, 80 percent of our storage units are climate controlled — including drive-up units with insulated doors, which is uncommon anywhere and rare here. We also provide tenants with a phone-based Bluetooth access and daily 6 a.m.–10 p.m. entry, in addition to a manager on site.”

Puzak said Guardian Storage has had “a very receptive response” from Grand Junction since it opened in May.

“We have brought a self-storage property to the market that is unmatched in terms of the amenities provided – DU climate controlled, climate controlled, covered loading, conference room for businesses to use, carpeted hallways, extensive security cameras, etc. – and the demand we have seen in the first few months since opening reflects this,” she wrote.