Two long-vacant Modesto buildings find new life. This company is buying both spaces
Two long-time vacant buildings in Modesto have found new life thanks to one company.
U-Haul has taken over the former Longs Drugs on McHenry Avenue and the old Toys R Us on Sisk Road. The buildings have been empty and boarded up for years. Now the moving and storage company is buying both with big plans for their future.
“U-Haul is excited to be a key part of the Modesto community for years to come,” said Chris Trudell, U-Haul Company of Central Valley president, who is overseeing the new projects.
The Longs Drugs closed in 2010, after the company was purchased by CVS and the rival pharmacy chain opened a new store with an attached drive-thru in McHenry Village at the nearby corner of McHenry and Briggsmore avenues. The Toys R Us building on Sisk Road, next door to the also vacant Orchard Supply Hardware building, has been shuttered since 2018.
The two buildings will be renovated by U-Haul to create storage and moving centers with showrooms and — in at least one case — a large indoor self-storage facility. U-Haul has opened and staffed temporary retail spaces in both buildings, Trudell said in a recent email interview.
The McHenry Avenue space is farther along in the renovation process, Trudell said, and the company plans to turn the 1625 McHenry Ave. building into a full-service U-Haul retail and self-storage facility. Once work is completed the site will include a large remodeled retail showroom, indoor climate-controlled self-storage units, towing accessories and professional hitch installation, propane, U-Box portable storage containers and more.
The site’s temporary showroom is currently open and offering truck and trailer sharing, towing equipment and moving supplies, Trudell said.
“U-Haul is seeking to convert the property into a sleek, contemporary indoor self-storage facility with all the bells and whistles, including state-of-the-art security features,” he said. “We take tremendous pride in the appearance of the facilities we renovate.”
The plans are subject to city approval, but the company hopes to begin remodeling work on the building this summer.
Trudell said the Toys R Us property at 2700 Sisk Road is still in the early planning stages, but a temporary U-Haul showroom has opened in the building selling moving supplies. The site is currently zoned only for retail use, so future plans beyond that will have to be approved by the city.
U-Haul plans to renovate and not tear down the existing buildings. About 70% of U-Haul owned-and-operated facilities are renovated and repurposed as opposed to building from the ground up, Trudell said, which falls under the company’s Corporate Sustainability initiative.
Once open, both sites expect to hire 10 to 15 employees to staff their facilities. The company said the two new sites will not affect the existing U-Haul businesses in Modesto, on Kansas Avenue and further north on McHenry Avenue.
U-Haul making a big investment in Modesto and the Central Valley, while rehabbing two buildings that have turned into long-term eyesores, is nothing but good news for the region. And, who knows, if Amazon is indeed building its first distribution center in Stanislaus County in Turlock that could boast up to 1,000 jobs, we might be seeing more people moving here in the not-so-distant future.
This story was originally published May 5, 2021 at 8:24 AM.
