The Place Where Stuff Happens - a Snapshot of Self-Storage in Phoenix [Article]

Sue_C

Although an endless series of doors stretched down the hall on either side, Terina Giordano knew exactly where to turn to reach the exit. “Just row after row,” Giordano said with a grin, walking purposefully down the corridor. “You learn your way around after a while.”

Knowing her way through a self-storage maze is part of the job. As the general manager of this CubeSmart Self-Storage location, Giordano is the guardian of the worldly possessions kept in the climate-controlled, two-story warehouse on Jefferson Street in downtown Phoenix. She oversees almost 1,000 units. Walking past door after door in the warehouse, nothing to mark your way forward or back, you feel slightly unmoored. Top 40 pop was being piped in from unseen speakers, but otherwise the facility was quiet, clinical, and nearly empty...[Read more]