At the end of the spring semester, Student Life Facilities will open University Storage Services at Long Lane Garage due to the upcoming summer renovations of the Nicolson dormitories. Manager of Transportation for Auxiliary Operations & Campus Services Marcello Curridori was appointed to be in charge of the storage service.
“We’ve been doing storage [at Long Lane Garage] for international students who are going abroad,” Curridori said. “So when we heard about the Foss Hill storage being shut down, we decided to offer it to all students.”
The new service will allow students to store both boxed and non-boxed items, such as bicycles and furniture, at $15 each for up to 12 months. Boxes will be made available at $2.50 per piece. Students will be given the option to either deliver their belongings to the garage or have the boxes picked up at a price of $20 each.
“As you can see, the fee is nominal,” Curridori said. “We need to charge students to cover the rental cost of the garage.”
The storage cost is cheap in comparison to professional storage services such as Collegeboxes and The Student Storage Company, which charge students from $39 to $50 per box.
“I don’t think it’s overly expensive compared to the other ones,” said Satyawidya Wulansari ’07. “Although, I think we should be able to store our belongings for free.”
Despite the low cost, some students still feel renting nearby storage space is a better option. At the end spring semester last year, Arthur Sugden ’08 and four other friends rented a 8 x 10 foot space on High St.
“I stored all my belongings there and we ended up paying $50 each,” Sugden said. “I have a lot of items I can’t put in boxes. With $15 per item, $50 only allows me to store three items. Definitely not worth it.”
In the past, storage rooms have been located in the basements of the Nicolson dormitories. Storage rooms would be open for certain hours during finals week and students were allowed to store up to six boxes. Any non-boxed items other than refrigerators, such as bikes or furniture, would not be accepted.
“It was awful,” said Molly Hartman ’07. “The line was long, the people were unfriendly, and everything was a mess.”