Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Palouse Board of Adjustment has given its approval to a new mini-storage to be built on Main Street.
The 24-unit S & M Storage facility will be its third location, joining the original in Potlatch and a second one which opened in Garfield four years ago.
Owners Mike Boller and Steve Wolheter of Potlatch bought two lots in Palouse in 2013 from Bud Bagott, the owner of Bagott Motors, who once used the area as a used car lot.
Boller and Wolheter received city approval Dec. 8 for a 110-foot by 100-foot U-shaped building, which will be built of all metal with a three-foot brick front and landscaping along Main Street.
“As far as we know now, that’s what it’s gonna be,” Boller said.
According to the conditional use permit, the city council will need to approve the building’s color.
Boller indicated that the property line will now be surveyed, followed by plans to build in early spring.
“We’ll hopefully be open to rent by the first of May,” he said.
Boller and Wolheter gauged what they see as a market in Palouse from a few factors.
“We’ve been looking, felt there might be a need there. We’ve done good in Potlatch and Garfield, and Pullman storage units seem to be full all of the time,” Boller said. “I guess we’re going on gut feeling.”
According to the owners’ plans, if the original 24 units in Palouse are successful, another 10 will be built in the center of the U-shaped building.
The mini-storage will be the third new building on Palouse’s Main Street in three years – including the Palouse Community Center and the still-under-construction Palouse Caboose Bar and Grill. The town also lost a building this April when the former Palouse Tavern building burned down.
“I’m always excited when private enterprise wishes to invest in our community,” said Palouse mayor Michael Echanove. “It’s really rewarding. We work so hard on public infrastructure.”
S & M Storage began in Potlatch with a 48-unit location opening in 1998, followed by the 16-unit Garfield location in 2010, which was later expanded to 32 units.
Space available in Palouse will be rented in sizes 5x12, 10x12 and 10x15 for monthly prices ranging from $30 to $65.
Previous S & M buildings were constructed by CDA Structures of Coeur D’Alene. Boller and Wolheter have not yet sent out a call for bids for the Palouse project.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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