Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
Those interested in snagging a last-minute storage unit before the long winter freeze, may want to hurry over to the new Red Roof Mini-Storage at W4652 CTH G in Merrill.
According to owner Mark Skic, nearly half of the 22 units on site have already been rented, since the facility opened in early November.
Owned and operated by Mark and his wife Nina of Merrill, the facility is managed by daughter Stephanie Jewell of Merrill.
The Skics also own and operate Taylor Insulation on the same site.
“After the tornado in April of 2011, we relocated our insulation business over here,” Skic says in explaining the creation of Red Roof Mini-Storage.
“What began as a temporary stay soon became permanent. We love the location, being so close to Church Mutual and the high school. We are also just a couple minutes from all three highways. Between the location and having extra acreage here for possible future development, it just made sense for us to stay right where we are.”
In the spring of this year, the extra acreage Mark refers to, became the site of a conceptual storage facility.
“We had the extra land and we felt there was still a need for another storage facility in Merrill, so we decided to give it a shot,” he said.
Construction began in June and was completed just before a ribbon-cutting with the Merrill Chamber in early November.
The name “Red Roof” stems from the high-visibility red color of the facility’s roof, as well as the signage posted on CTH G.
“We wanted to name it something catchy, and also have it catchy to the eye in terms of people being able to see it from the road,” Mark said.
As Stephanie adds, the intent of the red roof has already paid off.
“We have already had quite a few calls from people interested,” Jewel added. “Many others have stopped in to check us out after driving by and seeing our signage out front.”
The new 22-unit facility comes with an array of customer friendly features, including 24/7 video surveillance, secure location with exterior lighting, ample accessibility for large vehicles and 24/7 unit access to renters.
The brand new facility consists of 4-10’x10’ units and 18-10’x20’ units, four of which feature moveable walls to accommodate larger items such as boats, trailers and recreational equipment.
“Rental is very simple,” Stephanie further explains. “Rental agreements are available for both monthly and yearly terms. They can be picked up at Taylor Insulation anytime Monday-Friday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Someone is always on-site in the office to assist with unit rental during business hours as well. We are also more than happy to e-mail agreements. We plan to eventually have agreements available on our webpage once that is completed.”
Another option for rental is to contact Stephanie directly at (715) 571-1009. She is available anytime and would like to encourage interested parties to be sure to leave a message if she is missed,
Mark is excited about the future of the new storage facility as well as the focus and investment placed in making the storage as customer friendly as possible.
“We made it a priority to invest in the construction of a high quality storage facility which would provide dry and secure storage units to our local community,” he said. “One feature we are very excited about is the white steel walls, which helps assure the units stay dry and help prevent water absorption.”
Red Roof mini storage is also on facebook at Red Roof Mini Storage.