A storage unit is a cheap warehouse. That is the whole pitch, and for a lot of small operations in Western New York it is the right answer for a few years before a real lease makes sense.
Rent on a 10 x 20 at Jeff’s Attic is $170 a month with 24 hour access and no lease to sign. The trade off is that nobody is there to sign for a delivery, and you cannot run a workshop out of it. Whether that trade works depends on what you actually need the space to do.
What size storage unit does a business need?
Most small businesses need a 10 x 15 or a 10 x 20, which holds the contents of a van and a few pallets of stock with room to walk in and find things.
The size that trips people up is the one below. A 10 x 10 sounds big until you load it, and then you are unstacking three rows to reach the thing at the back. Buy the aisle. Here is the working guide:
| Unit | Price per month | Roughly holds | Typical user |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 x 10 | $120 | Files, seasonal stock, a market stall setup | Online seller, market trader |
| 10 x 15 | $150 | A van load with an aisle down the middle | Trades, mobile services |
| 10 x 20 | $170 | Van load plus pallets, or a vehicle | Contractors, small distributors |
| 10 x 30 | $230 | Multiple pallets and long materials | Builders, fit-out crews |
| 20 x 30 | $400 | Small warehouse footprint | Growing inventory businesses |
Those are the Grand Island rates. Niagara Falls and Wheatfield carry a different mix of sizes, so if a particular size matters call and check what is open before you drive out.
What a storage unit does well for a business
Worth being straight about where the value actually is:
- Overflow stock that you do not need to touch daily and cannot justify a warehouse for
- Tools and materials between jobs, especially for a trade working out of a van
- Seasonal inventory, the Christmas stock or the patio range that owns your garage for eight months
- Records and files you are required to keep and never want to look at again
- Equipment you own but rent out, where the whole business is moving things in and out
The common thread is that the stuff sits still and you access it on your own schedule. That is what a storage unit is good at, and it is why 24 hour gate access matters more here than it does for a household customer clearing out a spare room.
And what it does not do
Plenty of storage companies will let you find this out after you have signed. We would rather say it up front.
- Nobody signs for deliveries. A storage yard is not a receiving address. If you need someone to take a pallet off a truck on a Tuesday, you need a different kind of space.
- You cannot work in the unit. No power tools running, no customers meeting you there, no assembly line. It is storage, not a workshop.
- The Niagara Falls and Wheatfield units have no climate control, so anything that hates a temperature swing needs thinking about. Ask us before you store it rather than after.
- It is not a trade counter. If your business depends on someone walking in, this is the wrong unit.
If any of those is a dealbreaker, a storage unit is not going to work and you are better off knowing now.
Business storage in WNY
Room for the van load, the tools and the files.
Three Western New York yards, 24 hour gate access, month to month, and no long lease to sign.
Storage for contractors and trades
The pattern we see most is a one van operation that has outgrown the garage at home. Tools, offcuts, a compressor, spare fittings, the second ladder. It fills a garage in about a year.
For that, a 10 x 15 at $150 usually does it, and the 24 hour access is the part that makes it workable. You can load at half five in the morning without waiting for an office to open. Gate access at all three yards runs Monday to Sunday, 24 hours.
If you are storing a work trailer as well as the tools, the Grand Island yard has gated outdoor spaces from $65 a month, which is a cheaper way to park a trailer than paying for a unit big enough to drive it into.
Which Western New York location suits
Three yards, and for a business the choice is usually about the drive rather than the price:
- Grand Island, 1763 Baseline Rd, the widest range of sizes and the only yard with outdoor vehicle and trailer spaces. Closest to Buffalo, fifteen minutes over the South Grand Island Bridge.
- Niagara Falls, 9805 Porter Rd, across from the airport, handy if you work the Niagara County side or the airport corridor.
- Wheatfield, 6870 Plaza Drive, large drive-up units at ground level, useful when you are moving heavy things in and out on a pallet truck.
What it costs against the alternatives
The number worth holding in your head is that a 10 x 20 unit runs $2,040 a year. Set that against a small commercial lease in the region and it is a different order of magnitude, and unlike a lease you can hand it back at the end of a month.
It is also worth saying that storage stops being the right answer at some point. When you are running three units and driving between them, or when you need someone on site during the day, you have outgrown it. That is a good problem and it means it is time for a real unit.
How to get set up
Have a look at the unit sizes and current prices and pick the one that fits, or call (716) 773-2000 and describe what you are putting in it. Someone on site will tell you what is actually open and talk you out of a unit that is too small, which is the more common mistake.
Reservations hold free for 30 days with nothing paid up front, storage is month to month, and service members get 10% off at every location.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a business out of a storage unit?
You can store business property in one, and that covers stock, tools, equipment and records. You cannot work in the unit, receive deliveries, or have customers meet you there.
What size unit fits a van load of tools?
A 10 x 15 at $150 a month is the usual fit, and it leaves an aisle so you are not unloading half of it to reach the back. A 10 x 10 will physically hold a van load but you will be climbing over it.
Can I store business records and files?
Yes, and it is one of the more common uses. Keep paper up off the floor on a pallet or shelving. Bear in mind the Niagara Falls and Wheatfield units are not climate controlled, so ask us about the specific unit before storing anything sensitive to damp or temperature.
Is there a lease?
No. Month to month at all three locations. Give notice and hand back the keys.
Can I get in outside office hours?
Yes. Gate access is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The office runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, but you do not need it to reach your unit.
Do you have space for a work trailer or a van?
Grand Island does. Gated outdoor vehicle spaces start at $65 a month, and there is a 10 x 65 space at $100 for anything long.
Related guides
If you are sizing a unit for the first time, the storage unit size guide walks through what fits in each one. For anything going away for a long stretch, storing furniture long term covers the prep that stops things arriving back damaged.
About Jeff’s Attic
Jeff’s Attic runs three self storage facilities in Western New York, on Porter Rd in Niagara Falls, Baseline Rd on Grand Island, and Plaza Drive in Wheatfield. Unit sizes and prices in this guide are the current Grand Island rates, checked against our own booking system. Call (716) 773-2000 and someone on site will tell you what is open today.