In planning new Self Storage developments, one major issue always identified by municipalities and their planning departments during the approval process when looking at new self-storage development projects is the lack of employment Self Storage directly provides to a community. Sometimes the argument is made that the same plot of land could be used to create far more employment than a self-storage development would for a community, especially in Urban areas where development land is scarce. In these arguments, the secondary employment that self-storages facilities help create in a community is not usually taken into account. Below is an exploration of the different ways that a self-storage facility helps create employment beyond just the staff and management present at the facility in a community.
Small Business
In. urban centers, small business can struggle to find suitable space to expand their businesses as they grow and expand. This lack of suitable space for lease can limit the addition of new employees to a business and in turn slow the growth of these businesses. Additionally, as Self-Storage is typically is leased on a short-term basis rather than in 3-5-year time frames, it can allow a small business to expand without a large financial commitment to new commercial space.
Self-Storage can provide flexible solutions for many small businesses to expand and therefore add staff at an earlier point by not having as many space limitations to contend with. The same short-term rental contracts that allow for earlier expansion ca also provide flexible inventory solutions for small business during busy times allowing seasonal businesses to be flexible and easily meet seasonal demands for product and thus being able to more readily add seasonal staffing as well.
All of these factors contribute to a new self-storage development helping to create new employment in Urban and Suburban centers.
Production
In urban centers, small scale production of goods including technology and some food manufacturing can have a great deal of difficulty finding suitable space for these activities. This will typically push these types of businesses into more rural areas thus moving employment from core areas to the suburbs and take away vital jobs from the Urban core. In some cases, certain types of production is not suitable for Self-Storage including manufacturing with hazardous materials or chemicals that aren’t suited for confined spaces however, there are many cases where production can operate easily within an existing storage facility thus allowing these jobs to remain within the Urban core adding good jobs to the area. I have personally seen examples of media production; high tech manufacturing and some artisanal food products being produced within self-storage facilities.
In this way, self-storage facilities can help stop the exodus of production and manufacturing based businesses and their employment from downtown and Urban areas to the suburbs.
Distribution/E Commerce
In urban centers such as Vancouver and the GTA, Light Industrial space is typically in short supply. This forces most distribution jobs to be based in surrounding areas where warehouse and light industrial space is more readily available. Moving these businesses outside the Urban core to areas with more readily available warehouse and light industrial space will typically also move many of these jobs as well. This not only reduces employment within a city but also may increase the volume of traffic as trucks are forced to commute from outside of the city and then back out again after making all of their stops in a day rather than starting and stopping in the city.
A slightly different distribution model that is starting to spring up in Urban centers is same day delivery from companies such as Amazon. This is a mix of typical distribution and E-commerce. Same day delivery requires companies to keep a stock of their most ordered items within the Urban core of a city to facilitate faster delivery. In some major cities, Amazon has taken to renting large blocks of storage units for their items so that they are able to more quickly roll out same day delivery. This expansion of their delivery services in turn requires them to hire more employees and contractors to facilitate these deliveries.
Another use for self-storage that is becoming more prevalent is as a basis for E-commerce businesses. As E-commerce doesn’t require a store front, self-storage is an excellent and easy place for these businesses to store goods before shipping them to customers. The previously discussed flexibility of space also is a great aspect of storage as it allows a business to add and subtract space as inventory needs change.
Repair
In Urban centers, space for repair operation, trades people and parts storage are always at a premium. Self-Storage can help keep these businesses and jobs in the Urban center. It is very difficult for many onsite repair businesses to store needed parts and tools in a downtown core of a city due to the lack of available commercial space that is also affordable. As such, self-storage can provide this space to help keep these businesses viable. Additionally, if there is the ability to base these trades and repair services in the city, this may help keep these jobs also based in the city as it will be much easier for employees to get to where they start there day if they don’t have to commute to a warehouse or repair shop outside the city and then back into the city to start work. At present some larger repair companies such as elevator technicians, HVAC companies and fire prevention companies are already using self storage in Urban centers to store parts that are needed frequently to lessen the time technicians need to spend getting parts for repairs. In this way, self-storage can help repair services be more efficient when based within the Urban center rather than outside the city and also help to reduce traffic congestion in the urban core.
The impacts on employment of continued self-storage development are far reaching and go beyond that of the initial jobs created in construction and operation of a self-storage facility. The factors above as well as the benefits storage provides to a community should always be examined by not only municipalities but also the groups who are developing these facilities. With some additional planning and prudent design, self-storage can help add to the employment and vibrancy of urban centers in ways that not many other property types can.