New $6 million Tri-Cities condo project won’t house a single person

A $6 million project being built in north Richland won’t be your typical condos.

Though they will cost as much as some Tri-Cities housing, no one will be living there.

They’re special homes for your biggest toys — RVs, boats and other vehicles.

Luxelocker is tapping into a growing demand for high-end indoor storage units that you own rather than rent.

“What we have found is that the toys and RVs are becoming bigger and more expensive,” said Mychel Gorden, CEO and co-owner of Desert Land Group that owns Luxelocker. “People are getting tired of leaving them out in the elements and getting beat up.”

The Richland Luxelocker will be on 5 acres along Stevens Drive that the company bought from the Port of Benton for $800,000.

Gorden’s four commercial buildings will total about 90,000 square feet.

Quickly expanding

Gorden told the Herald the concept for Luxelocker started about three years ago at the company’s headquarters of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

The tourism-based town has about 55,000 residents, but about 6,000-plus storage units.

The community is a magnet for Southern California visitors coming from Los Angeles and San Diego that are each about a 5-hour drive.

“There are some vacationers that come and recreate don’t want to haul their toys back and forth,” he said.

Instead of renting each month, the units are set up to be privately owned. Each owner pays an annual condominium association fee that covers the cost of things such as upkeep and snowplowing.

“It is a safe secure investment for someone,” Gorden said. “The turnover is extremely low.”

The second facility the company built near Reno sold out within months of being complete, and the Las Vegas units still under construction are not far behind. He said that some investors have purchased five units at a time to rent out as a source of income.

Boise and Richland are the next in line for Luxelocker’s expansion, and are the company’s first Northwest locations.

However, the concept of condo storage units it isn’t an entirely new concept in the Northwest even if a growing one.

GarageTown condo storage started at least 15 years ago in Coeur d’Alene and has expanded to include Kennewick among its 15 locations in seven states.

“I get calls all the time, but they are completely sold out and we have a waiting list,” said Tanah Greeno a property manager for D&R investments that manages GarageTown in Kennewick.

A review of the GarageTown’s website shows that every location is sold out. Three new locations are planned including one in Liberty Lake. A spokesperson for the company’s corporate could not be reached about their future plans.

The level of outdoor recreation in the Mid-Columbia and access to rivers and mountains near the regions made Tri-Cities attractive for Luxelocker’s continuing growth.

“We look at the net wealth of people living in the market, as well as RV and boat market saturation,” Gorden said about selecting target markets.

Units will range from 14.5 feet by 45 feet to 18 feet by 60 feet and include amenities such as climate control and an internal electricity supply.

A basic unit has lighting, automatic doors and outlets. A luxury unit also has climate control, water and a sewer line and a dedicated RV connection.

Prices haven’t been finalized for Luxelocker Tri-Cities, but the average 750-square foot unit starts at $75,000 and go up to $100,000.

“It is amazing how many people have a house with a big garage and still need the space for their toys,” Gorden said.

Economic development

Only two of the buildings will house Luxelocker units. The other two will be industrial flex spaces that can be built out into a combination of warehouse, retail and office spaces as needed.

“It creates more space for companies and start-up companies,” said Diahann Howard, executive director of the Port of Benton. “It fits in the bigger picture of the research district, and we are pleased with their investment.”

She said that there’s great traffic exposure from the large number of people who work in north Richland and Hanford and the increasing number of people moving to the north end of the city.

Howard hopes that the project will help spark some post-COVID momentum for more development in that area.

Gorden said he worked with the port’s mission for job creation to build the warehouse shells in conjunction with the storage units to attract more companies and growth in the area.

This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.