From the Ground Up: Kansas Expway Self Storage, Phase I

Owner/developer: Scott and Valerie Gayer
General contractor: Hambey Construction LLC
Architect: Derington Architects LLC
Engineers: Pinnacle Design Consultants LLC, civil; Miller Engineering PC, structural; and Latifi Engineering, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 28,000 square feet
Estimated cost: $1.3 million
Lender: Springfield First Community Bank
Estimated completion: mid-March
Project description: Through Valscott Properties LLC, Scott and Valerie Gayer are building a storage facility to add to their portfolio. Scott Gayer said they acquired Downtown Storage in 2009 and Sunshine Storage in 2011. Near the southwest corner of Kansas Expressway and Grand Street, the first phase of Kansas Expwy Self Storage comprises six ministorage buildings totaling 150 units, Gayer said. Phase II on the 4.6-acre lot calls for another seven buildings, including climate-control units. “We’ll let the market dictate the size of the units in the second phase from what we rent out in the first phase,” Gayer said. He said the city has granted occupancy as each building is complete, and there are two more to finish. It’s been a multiyear project since acquiring the land, and he said infrastructure was a challenge with utilities traveling through the adjacent Walgreens parking lot.