More and more storage units popping up in Mobile, Baldwin counties

Mobile, Ala. (WPMI) — You've probably seen them popping up all over town: New storage units.

It's been the talk of social media for the last few weeks.

Folks are wondering why there are so many new places opening up.

The sudden surge in storage units has left many wondering why so many are being built in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Bill Barnhill is a local storage unit owner and developer in Mobile and Baldwin counties. He says developments won't be dying down anytime soon.

"We built these because there was a sufficient demand," said Bill Barnhill, owner, manager of storage facilities in mobile, "But now they are a lot of new ones being built a lot more on the planning board."

With a facility popping up around every corner this has sparked concerns among some residents who have taken their worries to Mobiles city council.

"What can the city do to make sure that our most important land both in mine and other districts does not become more storage buildings," said a Mobile County resident.

Saying they are not so keen on the big blocks of building space.

"There is zero community involvement before this gets built. Neighbors don't know, and neighbor don't come down to the planning commission and get involved in the process, and that's something we desperately need to look at," said Scott Jones, district 6 councilman.

So why are we seeing such an influx?

"We have a lot of new subdivisions popping up everywhere. So, there is an increase in population which feeds that demand," said Barnhill.

However, with more and more storage units being built, competition among storage companies is getting fiercer.

"There is risk of some over building in the Mobile area like you see in other cities like Austin, Texas, Phoenix, even the Florida panhandle," said Barnhill, "The question is will there be over building? Will there be to many and if the supply and demand take care of that? Rates will adjust if that happens."

As long as there's demand, we'll be getting more storage units.

Barnhill says he's not sure yet how the growth and competition will impact their prices.