The Space Center – Keeping Your Treasures Safe

BY JACLYN ROSE –

Loren and Linda Whisenhunt met in Mena and married in 1968, together they have two daughters, Lenisa and Stacy, both graduates of Mena High School, and nine grandchildren.  “Mena is a great place to raise kids,” said Whisenhunt.

In 1986, when the storage industry was relatively new to Polk County, the Whisenhunts bought their first building, which was under construction and opened their first 53 units.  At the time, it was simply a business to work in conjunction with Loren’s insurance business, while Linda worked as a High School Physical Science teacher at both Acorn High School and Mena High School, until she retired in 2006.

Upon walking into The Space Center, customers can expect to be greeted by Cathy Ollar, who has worked for the Whisenhunts since April of 2014.  “Cathy is our manager and the best part of this whole thing.  She manages the front desk and takes care of the people with excellent customer service,” said Whisenhunt.

Located at 1100 Highway 71 South, The Space Center Storage was only the second storage business located in Polk County, and the only one who offered a variety of storage spaces.  After an interesting first few years, the spaces began to fill and the Whisenhunts began buying up surrounding land to build more units.  They eventually moved across the road and currently have 265 individual units.

Three to four years ago, they saw an increase in interest in climate controlled units, something that is very common in larger cities. They bought the property and sat on it while deciding the best way to build them.  Loren sits on the Board of Directors for Arkansas Self Storage and was determined to create state-of-the-art climate controlled storage units.  “We visited and looked at as many different units as we could and put the best features in ours,” explained Whisenhunt.  Climate Controlled Self Storage is great for priceless and sensitive antiques, furniture, photos, documents and electronics.  They are not hot in the summer or cold in the winter.  The Space Center’s climate controlled units are not only temperature controlled, but also humidity controlled with their relative humidity set at 55% or below.  They are state of the art and currently the only ones in Polk County.

Uniquely, The Space Center Self-Storage’s Climate Controlled units also offer storage shelves for seldom used documents, as well as wardrobe shelves to store out of season clothes in the best way possible.  A small five foot by ten foot unit can hold up to four shelves and sixteen feet of rod space.  This is a feature special to The Space Center, and the Whisenhunt’s have not seen it done elsewhere up to this point.

On Thursday, November 19, 2015, Pulse Multimedia will be onsite for The Space Center’s Open House from 11 am until 1 pm.  KENA will be broadcasting on location and The Space Center will be serving hot dogs, chips, and drinks, and are giving away an iPad Mini.  The public is invited and welcome to attend.

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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