HARLINGEN — U-Haul is raising its stake in the city with a major investment at a second facility.
U-Haul Moving and Storage is putting $750,000 into expanding and renovating its location at 1129 Morgan Boulevard, which follows a $2.4 million investment in the company’s Ed Carey Drive location. Both facilities are company-owned.
“The renovation work at U-Haul Moving and Storage at Morgan Boulevard has begun but at this time we can’t offer a completion date,” Bale Fernandez, U-Haul president of the company’s Corpus Christi operations, said via email.
“We are planning to offer retail sale of boxes, tape, hitches and many other convenient moving supplies,” he added. “Renovations will include both climate- and non-climate controlled self-storage along with a warehouse for our U-Box containers.”
The upgrade to its Morgan Boulevard location comes just two years after the company purchased an old lumber yard at 1218 Ed Carey Drive for $1.5 million. Another $900,000 was invested in that facility, adding nearly 400 self-storage units with more than half of those being climate-controlled.
In addition, the vehicle rental showroom and customer area was renovated and expanded.
“Business is booming for U-Haul in Harlingen and we need to expand our services to meet the moving and self-storage needs of our neighbors here,” Fernandez said. “We plan to offer our truck and trailer sharing along with retail supplies out of our temporary showroom while renovations take place.
“We are eager to provide a state-of-the-art facility and customers can be assured they will not be inconvenienced during renovations,” he said of the Morgan Boulevard location.
Moving facts by the numbers
40-50 — Millions of people who may move this year
20 — Percentage of people who move each year
11 — Average number of times a person moves in his or her lifetime
75 — Percentage of do-it-yourself movers
66 — Percentage of movers moving locally
33 — Percentage of people in their 20s who move in a given year
Source: U-Haul
