Capitola Self Storage

Your Community Storage Place

By Maggie Caldwell

Capitola Self-Storage is the self-storage with a difference — it’s thoughtfully decorated with a local flair, built to be green, fully accessible and dog friendly. If it had a theme song the lyrics would include ‘where everybody knows your name.’

“We like to be the community storage place,” said manager Joshua Nathan about Capitola Self-Storage. The staff knows that moving and storage can be stressful, so they try and make it as easy as possible. “Whatever your situation may be, you’ll find we’re very skilled at making people feel comfortable and at ease,” said Joshua. “Tenants tell us we have the cleanest bathrooms in Santa Cruz County,” said Joshua.

To accommodate the wide variety of people and their needs, Capitola Self Storage is “one-stop shopping” for all aspects of moving and storage at very competitive prices: tenants have access to a cork board for tenants to connect with each other and to buy, sell, or trade. Numerous carts, dollies, and baskets are all available for use at no additional charge. If you get thirsty working, the staff has bottled water available – and there’s water and treats for your pup, too; dogs are more than welcome in the facility.

Capitola Self Storage is also fully accessible. “In five minutes, we can modify any of our units to be handicapped accessible,” said Joshua. “Many storage facilities only have dedicated accessible units, but if they’re already rented out when you need one you’re out of luck.” They are also part of the U-Haul Co-STAR program, so they have branded cargo vans available for rent to help with moves.

Security is a priority at Capitola Self Storage; Joshua points out that “We’re one of the most secure facilities in town.” Each unit is individually alarmed, and there’s live video surveillance displayed on screens behind the desk. Months’ worth of video is always available — at the stroke of a key, you can pick a day and time and view everything that was going on then.

Capitola Self Storage also earned a Monterey Bay Area Green Business Certification. The interior lights of the storage units are on timers, and hallway lights use motion sensors to reduce electrical use. Only energy efficient fluorescent bulbs and green cleaning products are used throughout the facility. Capitola Self Storage was built to be climate constant. “Climate-controlled involves having thermostats in each unit. Our facility is climate-stable.

We’re made with a special roof material so it stays low humidity and a constant temperature. The units are all made of metal — no wood. Even the studs are metal, so it prevents mold or musty smells.” The environment inside the facility is such that even the Capitola Historical Society trusts the conditions to store their historical documents and artifacts.

“We also donate free storage to charities,” Joshua said. When needed, they open the facility to the Capitola Police Department to use for K-9 training. And they sponsor the annual Capitola Sand Castle Contest and participate in Toys for Tots.

They are also committed to recycling. They even have an e-waste drop off available to both tenants and non-tenants. “We don’t take light bulbs or batteries, but we will take just about anything with a plug.”

“We get such a cross-section of people here — it’s never boring! It’s really a unique business. We have a lot of musicians, artists, and small businesses that are tenants.” Joshua and his staff use the Capitola Self Storage Facebook page to help promote tenants’ events. “This year we received over 50 holiday cards from our tenants, including a few customers who moved out years ago! That tells you a lot about the staff here,” said Joshua. And the feeling is reciprocated; he said “99% of the tenants here, I’d invite into my home at any time.”

The staff at Capitola Self Storage invite you come in and see for yourself; after all, if you have a choice between fine dining and fast food for the same price, why settle for less?

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Capitola Self Storage is located at 809 Bay Avenue in the Nob Hill shopping center. Their phone number is 831-465-0600, or you can visit them online at www.capitolaselfstorage.com.