Downtown Self Storage

Downtown Self Storage in Huntsville. (Contributed photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The Downtown Self Storage building at Jefferson Street and Clinton Avenue in Huntsville will get new life as a retail startup business incubator known as the Clinton Row Project in March.

Downtown Huntsville, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Chad Emerson said his organization has signed a lease for six of the ground-floor storage units at Downtown Self Storage with hopes of spurring new business development in an eclectic environment in downtown Huntsville.

Now in the process of finalizing sub leases with tenants, Emerson said the new retail incubation project has been a six-month endeavor for Downtown Huntsville, Inc., which hopes to help young startups find a permanent location within a year of locating there.

"It gives local, small business entrepreneurs an opportunity to test whether their retail concept can be successful in an urban, walkable setting like downtown," Emerson said.

Live Easy, a brand-new Huntsville startup by Anne Condit that will feature local, handcrafted art and goods, will be one of the first small businesses to operate there. Huntsville artist Christina Wegman, who will sell original paintings and prints, will also sublease a unit at the storage facility.

Another unit will feature a rotating gallery for artists to display and sell their works for up to two weeks at a time.

John Whitman, visiting professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said his volunteer organization, Huntsville Open Tech Coffee, is launching a new public service called Business Button in one of the units.

Whitman started HOTCoffee last year to accelerate high-tech startups and build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madison County. The group, which usually meets bi-weekly, is a new resource for anyone interested in learning about or sharing ideas on new high-tech startups, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Whitman said more details about Business Button will be available "as soon as all the players clear."

"Clinton Row is hot, hot, hot," he said. "From Clinton Row to Cotton Row, it's all good downtown."

Before it was converted to Downtown Self Storage about 15 years ago, owner David Johnston said the building was a furniture store and before that, a farm implement. When Downtown Huntsville, Inc., approached Johnston about the idea of subleasing a few units to small businesses, he said a "light bulb went off."

"This used to be one of the prime retail streets in the city," he said, adding that the business incubator will serve a need in downtown, especially as more young professionals move into the area to live, work and play.

Emerson said he anticipates soft openings at units throughout the month of February, but the grand opening of the Clinton Row Project won't take place until March 1.

Each tenant will have the option to customize the interior of their units, but there are currently no plans to make exterior changes to the facility. A 10x10-foot unit will cost $100 per month.

To learn more about subleasing a unit or for additional details about the incubator, email Emerson at chad@downtownhuntsville.org.

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.