Too much stuff piling up in Hampstead? A new storage facility could help
As more people move to eastern Pender County, Christopher Jones and his family business partners are working to bring a new storage facility near the intersection of U.S. 17 and N.C. 210.
Surf City Storage is one of many projects coming to the area soon. The plans are to build an 80,000 square-foot facility with services such as climate-controlled units and U-Haul truck rentals. Jones said it's going to fill a need in Surf City and Topsail Beach.
"That's basically why we're going in that specific location — to serve that growing community which obviously has a lot of growth with apartments and houses going in," Jones said. "We feel positive that there's a good level of support there for a storage facility."
Surf City Storage is also expecting to pick up customers on the north end of U.S. 17 and in the Onslow County communities of Holly Ridge and Sneads Ferry. Jones said those populations are growing with military families and retirees.
"It just seems to be a good fit with the growing demographics," he said.
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The family-owned investment group built Hampstead Self Storage at 16700 U.S. 17 several years ago to serve the busy market. He said Hampstead has been a little under the radar compared to growth in places in the metro area, such as Wilmington and Leland, but stressed that growth is inevitable.
"We've been able to support this market really well and stay consistently busy as this area grows," he said. "There has not been a lot of other big developers that have come in to saturate the market either. You go into Porters Neck and Ogden, and they got several large facilities that are new and competing.
"If that was to happen here (Hampstead area) that would be way too much," Jones added. "For the amount that's here, I think it's been pretty good. We've been able to grow and support the needs."
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Jones said the closing of Pinnacle Storage due to eminent domain for construction of the future U.S. 17 Bypass also left a void in a growing market. Plans for a satellite location for Hampstead Self Storage near Williams Store Road is in the works for the business owners.
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According to Pender County mapping records, Surf City Storage, LLC acquired the 5.17 acres of land in Hampstead last year. A start date for construction has not been determined. Jones said it will depend on market conditions and other required permits to move forward.
"It's hard to predict when, but it can be going into the first part of next year about this time," Jones said. "It just really depends on those variables if it's going to take sooner or longer."
Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Plans for Hampstead storage facility underway for U.S. 17 area
