The Calgary Sun building, which has sat vacant since 2018, has been bought by U-Haul, which plans to turn the 89,237-square-foot building into a giant self-storage centre with 700 storage lockers.
The building is located at 2615 12th Street N.W.
“This building was very attractive to U-Haul because of its proximity to downtown Calgary and the visibility from Deerfoot Trail,” said Naga Chennamsetty, U-Haul Company of Southern Alberta president. “We want to invest in this city. Our goal is to bring a full-service moving and storage facility to our customers in order to meet the demand here.”
The 2.66-acre property was previously home to the Calgary Sun, a daily newspaper that has been in publication since 1980. U-Haul acquired the building on October 5 from Postmedia, in a deal brokered by Cresa.
The sale price has not been released, but a Cresa marketing brochure on the property listed an asking price of $6.2 million.
Acquisition of the property was driven by U-Haul corporate sustainability initiatives, which supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, according to a company release.
“We’re working closely with the city because Calgary’s development is important to us,” added Chennamsetty. “Our studies show we can reduce traffic congestion by providing a full-service U-Haul facility in this area. We offer a useful product that people need, and we look forward to serving the community in this location for many years to come.”
Chennamsetty expects to hire a staff of 20 or more Team Members when the store is fully operational.
The much larger Calgary Herald building, also owned by Postmedia, is still for sale. It is a highly-visible 391,590-square-foot building on a 4.3-acre site near the Deerfoot Trail and Memorial Drive SE., with an assessment value of approximately $38 million.
