Safe keeping

It’s hard to imagine a time when arterials weren’t dotted with steel-clad personal storage facilities. Local phone books list some 150 of them.

Brad Stone’s father, John, helped pioneer the movement here: “He got the idea from a student back in the early ’70s while teaching computer science at North Idaho College.”

John Stone’s first project was the ABC facility in Coeur d’Alene. He went on to build others in North Idaho, Spokane Valley, Airway Heights and the North Side, as well as in Seattle and California.

“We’d build them,” Brad Stone explained, “hold on to them for two or three years, sell them and move on to the next one.”

In 1985, John Stone bought a building – the former Sunshine Biscuits factory at 104 S. Division – and turned it into A-Economy Storage, his final storage project.

Brad Stone began managing the four-story brick landmark when he was just 19, and bought the business from his dad in 2007.

During a recent interview, Stone discussed how A-Economy has evolved since he took over, why he thinks business will only get better, and what he keeps in his own storage unit.

S-R: Where did you go to high school?

Stone: Gonzaga Prep.

S-R: What were you interested in back then?

Stone: Sports, mostly – baseball, basketball, football.

S-R: What career did you envision for yourself?

Stone: I wanted to be in construction, like my dad.

S-R: When did you get your first taste?

Stone: By the time my brother and I were 7 and 8 years old, we were pounding nails. When I was 14, I built free-standing units in Seattle. A year later, my dad bought this building. Bell Furniture had used it as a warehouse, but it was severely neglected. We gradually converted it to mini-storage – when one floor filled up, we’d work on the next. After we finished, my father and brother switched to building apartments and retirement centers, and I began running it in ’89.

S-R: Was the business successful from the start?

Stone: Yes. We were 85 percent full (in the built-out portion) the first year.

S-R: How has the neighborhood evolved?

Stone: When we arrived in 1985, it was run down, but there were apartments and shops nearby, so it was more community-oriented. The city impound building was next door, so we interacted with the police. After the House of Charity opened two blocks away (in 2000), things really started to change – both our clientele and the neighborhood itself. We lost some customers, but added others who were homeless. We’re very careful about who comes in here, and we have security cameras throughout the building.

S-R: What else has affected business?

Stone: Things got pretty bad during the recession. But for every 10 tenants we lost, we’d gain two or three because of people losing their house.

S-R: What’s your occupancy now?

Stone: We’re back up to about 80 percent, which is typical of mini-storage facilities. Nobody is 100 percent full, because people come and go – that’s the nature of the business. People seem more mobile today. We have clients all over the world – people with stuff here who are working in Australia.

S-R: What’s your busiest time of year?

Stone: We have a ton of Gonzaga students who rent from us every spring before they leave town for the summer. May is our busiest month.

S-R: How about long-term clients?

Stone: At least two have been here since 1986.

S-R: Why would someone store things for 28 years? At some point aren’t their things worth less than they’ve paid to store them?

Stone: Yes, but that’s part of the business. What looks like old furniture to us may have been their grandma’s favorite chair.

S-R: This place feels huge. Do people ever get lost?

Stone: They have a tendency to. If you add up all the floors, we have an acre under one roof. About eight years ago, we started giving clients maps. Those who still get lost eventually make their way back down to the office.

S-R: There’s talk of a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks nearby to accommodate expansion of the University District. Could this building someday be converted to apartments?

Stone: It could. It’s structurally sound and has 14-foot, loft-style ceilings. But I can’t see that happening anytime soon.

S-R: What do people ask when they learn you own a storage business?

Stone: They want to know if I watch (the reality TV show) “Storage Wars,” and whether my business is like that.

S-R: What do you say?

Stone: I laugh, because “Storage Wars” is staged. You might get one good unit out of 50 at auction – nothing like you see on TV.

S-R: What’s the procedure when customers default on their rent?

Stone: We cut the lock, take pictures of the contents – we don’t open boxes – then lock the unit back up. By law, we can dispose of the inventory if it’s worth less than $300. A lot of times, it’s just worn-out furniture and clothes, and we’re out the money owed. If the contents are worth more than $300, we can auction it to recoup the debt. On the rare occasion that we get more than we’re owed, the extra money goes back to the tenant.

S-R: How often do you have auctions?

Stone: About once every two months.

S-R: How many people show up?

Stone: It depends on how many units we have, but usually about 10 people. We open each door and they look inside, but they can’t enter the unit before the auction.

S-R: Have you auctioned any treasures?

Stone: One lady who defaulted had two units full of antiques. But in general it’s furniture, clothes, maybe a barbecue.

S-R: Anything unusual stored here?

Stone: Someone kept an old printing press here for a while. There’s a story behind that, but I’ll leave it for another day.

S-R: Do people sometimes fill a unit and later have no clue where things are?

Stone: A lot of times. We encourage them to put everything they won’t need soon toward the back, and things they might need right away – paperwork, pots and pans – up front. And we explain how to use the space most efficiently. It’s like playing Tetris – everything has its place.

S-R: What distinguishes a stand-alone storage facility such as A-Economy from the more ubiquitous garage-type units?

Stone: The best part is that we’re indoors – everything is secure and dry. If mice get in here, it’s typically because someone brought them in with a couch or chair. But we have a really good exterminator.

S-R: And the downside?

Stone: A building like this requires more maintenance. People can’t access their unit unless we’re here, which is Monday through Saturday. And we don’t store cars and boats.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Stone: The interaction with clients. I didn’t go to school for counseling, but I consider it part of my job – listening to people talk about their problems.

S-R: What do you like least?

Stone: Having to sell people’s belongings.

S-R: What’s the outlook for the industry?

Stone: It’s good. As baby boomers get older and transition to condos or retirement centers, they need more storage space. And people today tend to hang on to more stuff, which is good for us, even though some of the stuff that comes through the door makes you wonder why they bother.

S-R: Do you have your own storage unit?

Stone: Yes, I have a 10-by-20.

S-R: Any hoarding tendencies?

Stone: No. My unit’s full, but we have four kids. So there’s extra household stuff, bikes, skis, camping and fishing gear, a rooftop carrier for our car, a snow blower, lawn tools – seasonal stuff. But I don’t keep boxes of toys from when I was a kid.

S-R: How do you relax?

Stone: I play golf three times a week.

S-R: You could have your own driving range inside this building.

Stone: Actually, we used to have one of the big lockers set up with a net and a mat, and we’d use that to practice in the winter.

S-R: What happened to it?

Stone: Someone needed the space, so I rented it.

This interview was edited  and condensed.