The truth is often stranger than fiction and the rental world offers its share of stories that can be considered offbeat, strange, or just plain weird. With that said…Rent It Today is excited to introduce a new rental blog category: The Offbeat Rental Report. This week’s edition of odd rental industry news features self storage unit rentals and takes us to Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.
Self Storage Facility or Crematorium?
Self storage facilities offer many practical uses which are utilized by large numbers of consumers and businesses. The ways self storage facilities are used are quite varied, and one currently proposed method to employ a storage unit warrants closer examination for its unique application.
A recent article in the Virgin Island Daily News reports that a self storage business in St. Thomas, USVI has applied for a permit to use rented self storage space to operate a crematorium.
The proposed crematorium would occupy two self storage units in the southernmost buildings of the Fortress Self Storage . The proposal is currently under review. Saint Thomas currently doesn’t have a crematorium, and residents who wish to have remains of their deceased loved ones cremated have to travel to Puerto Rico for the service.
The funeral home owner who wants to operate the crematorium has met with some opposition from other renters. The facility has a number of tenants including a dance instructor, a bakery, and two salons, among others. The proposed crematorium would house a propane-fired chamber heated to at least 1,800 degrees. According to the report, the proposed 30-ton unit meets existing air pollution regulations and zoning ordinances.
The proposal does present some interesting possible future scenarios. If the proposal is denied, one might say it died and went up in smoke. Or if the proposal is approved and the tenant eventually fails to pay on the unit, can you imagine the episode of Storage Wars that could be filmed? Picture the reaction of the bidders when the door is rolled up to reveal a 30 ton crematory furnace.
Although perhaps a bit out of the mainstream, this story does illustrate the versatility of self storage rental. Perhaps the take away lesson here is, if you plan to rent a self storage space to house a crematorium, be prepared to meet some stiff resistance.
Written by +Bob Schrichte for +RentItToday
That is a crazy story
That is strange…I’m looking forward to this series of articles. I am sure I would not want to rent a self storage unit where the unit next to it had a crematorium in use.