Adaptive Reuse: U-Haul Reveals Plans for Erie's Skinner Engine Factory

ERIE, Pa., Feb. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The historic building that housed the Skinner Engine factory is now serving the public as U-Haul Moving & Storage of Downtown Erie. U-Haul® acquired the property at 337 W. 12th St. in October and plans to construct more than 600 self-storage units inside the building over the next year.

"This building is a piece of Erie history," said Ean Livingood, U-Haul Company of Northwestern PA. "I'm excited to be part of this downtown revitalization. The Skinner Engine factory has been a symbol for generations and to tear it down would have been a shame. We want to maintain the character of the building and merge it with the U-Haul services that our neighbors need."

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Downtown Erie currently offers truck and trailer sharing, towing equipment and moving supplies out of a temporary showroom. When construction is completed, customers will be able to take advantage of climate-controlled self-storage, professional hitch installation, propane, U-Box portable moving and storage containers, and much more.

Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage of Downtown Erie at (814) 240-5500 or stop by to visit general manager Megan Vogel and her team. Hours of operation are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

"We've been looking for a building in this corridor for a long time," Livingood said. "We want to make our top-of-the-line moving equipment and services more convenient to families in and around Erie. This is a step in the right direction."

The 80,848-square-foot structure, built in the 1930s, was once home to a pioneer in the steam engine business. Skinner Engine still builds steam turbines used to generate electricity.

The recent acquisition of the Skinner Engine factory facility was driven by U-Haul Company's Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. Our adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-construction materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings.

By repurposing the factory, U-Haul prevented the use of 1,057.4 tons of metal manufacturing and transportation (the amount of steel used to make 1,066 passenger cars); avoided 6,380 tons of new concrete pours (enough to create 129 miles of concrete blocks); kept 7,495 tons of construction and demolition debris out of landfills (avoiding 288 dump trucks traveling 6,054 miles); and stopped 6,814,578 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere (the carbon emissions of 523 large SUVs or pickup trucks for one year).

The arrival of U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 is revolutionizing the moving industry through its more convenient, more secure way to pick up and return a truck. U-Haul live verification technology allows rental transactions to be carried out entirely on a smartphone at any hour – day or night. There are no membership fees. Simply visit uhaul.com to create an online account.

About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 now offers customers access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the self-service options on their internet-connected mobile devices. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than 51 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor
Jeff Lockridge
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-263-6981
Website: uhaul.com

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SOURCE U-Haul