Streetwise: Storage units slated to replace vacant J.C. Penney store on South Koeller

OSHKOSH – A storage facility is on deck to replace Oshkosh's former J.C. Penney store in Aviation Plaza.

US Storage Depot plans to convert the strip mall at South Park Avenue and South Koeller Street into offices and 370 climate-controlled storage units. The 62,000-square-foot building, 2175-2185 S. Koeller St., has been vacant since April 2015, when J.C. Penney closed its Oshkosh location there.

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Ronald Hagen, owner of US Storage Depot, said the facility will house space for private and commercial use, along with office space for small businesses. Of his company's 37 locations in Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida, 19 were a conversion of a vacant building.

"Self-storage as a whole is a type of business that is community friendly," Hagen said. "We’re community friendly because we don’t create any noise. We don’t create a lot of traffic. Once the place is open, you might have 15 to 20 people maximum a day."

Hagen said a timeline for construction of the new storage facility will depend on when the city signs off on permits for the project. The Oshkosh Common Council is set to vote Tuesday on a conditional-use permit for the business.

US Storage Depot's Oshkosh location would mark the company's third in Wisconsin.