Zippy Shell, an on-demand storage and moving company, is buying and moving into the 71,000 sq. ft. Big Easy Sportsplex at 800 Webb St. in Elmwood.
Beau Box Commercial Real Estate (BBCRE) represented Zippy Shell, the fastest growing franchise business in both the moving and storage industries, solidifying its mobile entry into New Orleans.
“The New Orleans industrial market has a limited supply of facilities able to accommodate the stacking requirement of a user like Zippy Shell,” said Jordan Johnson, the BBCRE agent who brokered the deal on behalf of Zippy Shell of Louisiana franchisee Nathan Chandler. “The high eaves, room for growth, and access to travel corridors are a good fit operationally as Zippy Shell establishes its presence in Louisiana. The opportunity to retain Big Easy as a tenant made sense financially, and traffic to the building will increase local awareness of the Zippy Shell brand.”
Big Easy Sportsplex was represented by Re/Max Commercial Brokers, Inc.’s Matt Eaton, CCIM, and Peter Lombardo in the transaction and will continue normal operations in its current location.
“Since acquiring the building in 2012, bringing another large, community-focused business to the building was the plan,” said Joey Cabeceiras, owner of Big Easy Sportsplex. “Zippy Shell is a great fit. Big Easy Sportsplex can now provide massive facility and program upgrades to the largest indoor baseball and softball facility in the Gulf South. We will have new amenities for our members, the latest technology for our instructors, new throwing and hitting programs for our local prospects and additional leagues and teams for kids.”
Zippy Shell plans to service the regions’ potential 1.5 million movers (in the Metairie, Harvey, Gretna, LaPlace, St. Rose, Kenner, Lutcher, Gramercy, Mandeville, Covington, Westwego, Slidell, Gonzales, Luling and Destrehan areas) with its simplified moving system utilizing on-site portable storage containers allowing easy access to belongings.
The moving model, that boasts a 20 percent savings over local competitors, includes Zippy Shell bringing street legal, portable storage containers to a customer’s house, apartment or business and allows for a three-day window for them to load up their moveable items. Zippy Shell then arranges to pick up the container and deliver it to a new address where customers have another three days to unload their belongings.
If a customer wants to keep items nearby during a remodel or renovation, Zippy Shell’s weatherproof, metal containerized outdoor storage system allows for the flexibility of storing the unit on-site for as long as the customer needs it. If moving out of town, Zippy Shell also provides long distance moving and relocation services and 30 days of free storage. If a customer isn’t quite ready to move into a new space, Zippy Shell reps said they store the units in their safe and secure climate-controlled environment.
“The facility checked all the boxes for our permanent location,” said franchisee Chandler. “The building size and location gives us space to securely store belongings for thousands of customers in Greater New Orleans. We are excited to have Big Easy Sportsplex as an anchor tenant and the opportunity to support youth sports in our community.”
By using Zippy Shell, reps said there is no need to rent or borrow a truck, travel to unsafe areas or facilities or coordinate multiple trips to their facility. They said their secure storage units are delivered door-to-door, and reduced handling prevents damage to belongings.
Chandler’s Zippy Shell of Louisiana franchise has been operating out of a smaller location at 2940 Royal St. in the Bywater since May. Chandler said his supersized 3.37-acre Elmwood location will be ready to provide moving and storage operations by the end of September.
Financing for the project was provided by William Prieur at IberiaBank.
Founded in Australia in 2007 and brought to the United States in 2010, Zippy Shell Incorporated is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and strives to revolutionize and streamline two industries – practical, personal storage and safe, secure moving. This summer Zippy Shell merged with 1800packrat.com, a leading provider of portable moving, portable storage and logistics solutions headquartered in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Zippy Shell currently has more than 50 independently operated, corporately operated and jointly operated facilities serving more than 150 markets.
View a video about how Zippy Shell works here