New luxury car storage likely coming to Wheaton

High-end, luxury car owners looking for a place to keep their vehicle may soon be able to use a new storage facility in Wheaton.

The city council is scheduled to vote Nov. 2 on a proposal to demolish the former Packey Webb Ford dealership at 1830 E. Roosevelt Road and construct a nearly 130,600-square-foot self-storage facility.

City officials say new cars were sold at the dealership for 43 years, until it closed in 2007. Jim Kozik, the city's director of planning and economic development, said since then, the Webbs have sold used cars and maintained a quick lane service center on the property. They have agreed to the demolition and one of the Webbs will be a co-owner of the storage facility.

Developer Michael Siurek said there will be about 40 humidity- and heat-controlled spaces for cars. It's a concept his team already has implemented at U-Stor-It in Lisle where, according to the website, spaces start at $85 a month.

"It was really an experiment we started, to see what the demand would be, and it was overwhelming," he said. "We have a waiting list in our other facility, pretty deep."

Car owners can keep their vehicles at the storage facility year-round, Siurek said. Whenever they want to take the car out, they can just park their everyday car in the space.

"We have customers that show up at five in the morning to take their Lotus out for a drive before they go to work," he said. "They come and take their car out for a morning ride in the country, or take it out for the weekend. That's a common occurrence."

Kozik said while the owners hope the vehicle storage will differentiate them from other, similar storage facilities, traditional storage space also will be available.