U-Haul Repurposes Historic Holsum Bakery Site for New Store in Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, La., July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The historic building that once housed the beloved Holsum Bakery for some 61 years will soon function as the location for U-Haul Moving & Storage at Holsum Bakery at 3400 S. MacArthur Drive.

The 6.72-acre property features a 91,544-square-foot main building. There are four additional buildings on the property that U-Haul has not yet designated for use.

The U-Haul real estate acquisition is a half-mile from U-Haul Moving & Storage at MacArthur Drive, where operations for the new facility are headquartered. The Holsum Bakery site will offer climate-controlled and non-climate storage units; U-Box portable moving and self-storage containers; covered RV and boat storage; and much more.

Stop by U-Haul Moving & Storage at Holsum Bakery or call (318) 787-0262. Hours of operation are from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

U-Haul will begin serving customers at U-Haul Moving & Storage at Holsum Bakery this fall. As an added perk, customers will be able to rent self-storage units day or night with a mobile device.

"I was born and raised in the Alexandria area, and my father was actually employed at the Holsum Bakery," said Warren Iles, U-Haul Company of Northern Louisiana president. "I began my career with U-Haul at the parent center across the street and I can still smell the freshly baked bread like it was yesterday."

At its height, Holsum Bakery was an Alexandria landmark. But after it was abandoned in 2012, the property slowly started to become an eyesore.

The acquisition of the Holsum Bakery facility was driven by U-Haul Company's Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill development 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.

"When we took over the location, everything from the old bakery was still in place – it was as if they stopped working and walked out," Iles said. "We are bringing the location back to life and making sure this Central Louisiana landmark doesn't disappear. The fact that we can take a property like this and give it life again makes me proud to be a part of this process."

To learn more about U-Haul in the news and in your community, visit myuhaulstory.com.

Contact:

Andrea BatchelorJeff Lockridge E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-263-6981 Website: uhaul.com

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SOURCE U-Haul