June 19, 2023

As downtown adds apartment and condominium residents, a new business is designed to provided needed storage.

East Bank Storage is at 720 E. Third St. and has 76 units in its first phase, including 46 climate-controlled units and 30 cold-storage units.

“Our real hope is with so many new apartments going forward now, with Cherapa’s buildings and Steel District’s buildings, that we’re going to be the closest proximity to storage for people,” owner Larry Howe said.

Howe bought the property, which is near his core business, Howe Inc., from Don Dunham Jr. about 20 years ago. Originally, “it’s where Munce Bros. had a barn for the horses that would pull their moving trailers,” he said.

“Over the years, we’ve tried to find companies that needed a building, so we could build and lease it to them. I didn’t want to sell it. We have about 10 acres. It really works good for our plumbing business to be in the center of the city, and I think this is going to work also.”

Renters have started to move in their items, he said. Bender Cos. is managing the property, and tenants are able to drive up and access the secure facility.

Howe also owns the East Bank Depot building downtown, so he kept the brand in the name of the new business.

He plans to see how the units rent up before deciding what to build in the second phase. Most are 10-by-20-feet. Some of the climate-controlled ones are smaller, and some of the cold-storage units are larger to accommodate various vehicles.