Spaces Savers

While COVID-19 has thrown the whole world for a loop, many people are taking the extended time indoors to bring some stability into their homes. And that means lots of cleaning and organizing—finally combing through the attic and basement—and even down-sizing from larger homes to smaller abodes now that the kids are away. In this quest for clarity and cleanliness, consider the peace of mind that a storage unit can bring. Founded by a team with over 30 years in the self-storage business, Hollow Tree Self Storage in Darien is here with climate-controlled units to store your family heirlooms before you pass them to the kids, to garage-like spaces for motorcycles, and everything in between. We chatted with facility general manager Maria Hernandez about the company’s community connection and why storage units are a life-saver even if there isn’t a big move in your future.

What is the history behind Hollow Tree?
Hollow Tree Self Storage opened officially in January 2019 and was founded by four partners local to Darien: Robert Wood, Tim Wood, John Hertz, and Paul Hertz. The partners have been in the storage industry since 1990, owning Affordable Storage in Norwalk, and discovered that there was a potential need of additional storage for the community in Darien and surrounding towns. They decided to sell the Norwalk location and build a brand new facility with the amenities and needs of the neighborhood.

What safety standards do you have in place because of COVID?
It is our priority to ensure that we are doing all we can for the health, safety and well-being of our customers and team. Our team is making sure to sanitize high-traffic areas several times a day. Keypads, elevator buttons, flatbeds, bins and doorknobs are subject to increased cleaning, as is the rest of our already immaculately clean facility for everyone’s piece of mind. We also have hand sanitation stations available in our entrances for customers to use.

Other than moving, what’s a good reason to consider a storage unit?
The need of the space is unique to each person, be it for business use or personal use: additional inventory space, seasonal furniture/items, files, cars, motorcycles, tools, or just to be able to ensure that the items you are emotionally attached to have a place of its own where you know it will be safe. Soon to come in 2021 is wine storage!

How does Hollow Tree help meet the needs of people who are downsizing?
We offer over 30 different size storage units which gives us the advantage to be able to find the very best space that each customer may be in need of, from units that are as small as 5×5 to as large as a 20×42. It is our goal to ensure that we provide the best service and product to our customers and we always strive to assist to make their move a little bit smoother and less stressful from the storage side.

What sets you apart from other storage companies?
We distinguish ourselves from other facilities, simply by our design! The facility has sustainable features including a rooftop solar farm that powers virtually all of the facility, along with state-of-the art technology, gates and advanced 24-hour surveillance cameras, individual alarms for each unit, contactless entry, and an on-site property management team. We also offer 30 different sizes of units, along with drive-up garage units for car storage, drive-in bays, loading docks for business shipments and storage, parking for boats, RV’s and motorcycles, and commuter parking right across the Noroton Heights Metro North Station. We are focused in building our brand and reputation and excited to be part of the community

What community organizations are you working with?
We have been working closely with P2P, The Community Fund and The Depot to name a few of organizations that do some great work in their efforts to support the community. Since our start, we knew that we wanted to be a strong supporter of the community and we have made it one of our focuses and main goals to ensure we are involved in our community and help in any way we can.

What’s the philosophy behind your business?
It is our goal to build relationships with our customers and community; to be the preferred local partner in self-storage and an asset to the community, as we pride ourselves in providing both the best state-of-the-art facility and an outstanding management team.

How do you make your work day fun?
Our team enjoys coming in and being able to help our customers and getting to know each one and the great stories that are shared with us. We are a family and love to treat each and every tenant as part of our family!




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