U-Haul Repurposes Historic Site in Central Louisiana

By Adriana Pop

Alexandria, La.—U-Haul is converting the long-vacant historic building at 3400 S. MacArthur Drive in Alexandria into a new self-storage facility.

The 6.72-acre property that housed the Holsum Bakery for 61 years features a 91,544-square-foot main building. The structure will function as the location for the new U-Haul Moving & Storage at Holsum Bakery, which is scheduled to open this fall. The site also includes four additional buildings for which U-Haul has yet to designate a use.

U-Haul Moving & Storage at Holsum Bakery

Located a half-mile from U-Haul Moving & Storage at MacArthur Drive, where its operations are headquartered, the new Holsum Bakery store will offer climate-controlled and non-climate storage units, U-Box portable moving and self-storage containers, as well as covered RV and boat storage. As an additional perk, customers will be able to rent self-storage units day or night with a mobile device.

Once an Alexandria landmark, Holsum Bakery was abandoned in 2012 and has slowly started to become an eyesore.

The redevelopment is part of U-Haul’s Sustainability Initiatives, through which the company supports infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. U-Haul’s 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 added. “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.”

Recent U-Haul expansion projects include the adaptive reuse of a former Kmart Super Center in Detroit, a new facility in Greenville, N.C., as well as the redevelopment of a shopping plaza in Greater Cincinnati.

Image courtesy of U-Haul