ace (or two) to store all your “stuff.” And when it comes to that, Maddalena and Mark DiRienzo at Mistletoe Road Self Storage & Business Park (696 and 700 Mistletoe Road) know exactly how you feel.
“Prior to building Mistletoe Road Self Storage, we had been storage tenants ourselves,” Maddy said. “Based on that experience, we wanted to build a top-tier facility that had the best security features (like individual door alarms). And we realized that fair, consistent and courteous customer service was going to be our priority. One small example: if one of our tenants moves out prior to their lease termination date but we’re able to re-rent their unit to someone else, we refund them their prorated, unused rent. Seems only fair, but not every facility does that.”
Mark and Maddalena moved to Ashland in 1998 from New York City. “We both left jobs in Manhattan,” Mark said. “I was in aviation insurance and Maddalena in the jewelry department at Christie’s auction house. We were seeking a small town with culture, outdoor recreation, a university, good K-12 schools, organic grocery stores, and high quality restaurants. We looked up and down the east and west coasts, and Ashland was a perfect fit. We’ve raised two boys here, who are now grown and living in Portland.”
Owning their own business was something they always wanted to do.
“In all of our endeavors over the years, we learned to appreciate and hone a variety of skills, including high level customer service, quality marketing, solid project management, and strong financial experience—all valuable assets that we could apply to any business,” Mark said. “The idea of a self-storage facility combined with a mix of commercial spaces supporting Ashland’s small businesses was a solid business model back in 2007, and so we took a chance and broke ground on the project. It has been a fun and rewarding 18 years working together to make our business a contributing member to the community.”
Maddalena agreed. “Our mission from the very beginning has been to help people in transition,” she said. “We noticed that when someone is looking for storage, it’s usually because they’re moving to or from a home, have lost a loved one, are going through a divorce, have lost their home (in a fire or for financial reasons), and the list goes on. These are emotional events, so we and our staff have always made it our focus to be great listeners and to help our tenants get through whatever transition they’re in.”
They have also developed a business park providing production spaces and professional offices.
“Our business park was designed to stand out in the Ashland commercial office market,” Maddalena said. “Mark and I had leased office space prior to building our own commercial building, and we made sure to incorporate the features that we appreciate into Mistletoe Business Park. High ceilings, lots of light, high-end fixtures and finishes, great views, and nicely appointed common areas. And we’ve tried to be the landlords we wish we’d had! We work hard to be responsive, and we encourage our office tenants to share their feedback with us regularly, so that we can ensure everything looks good and is functioning as it should. We really love our office tenants and are grateful they’ve chosen our business park as their ‘home’.”
For more info, the phone number is 541-482-3034. You can also see them at mistletoestorage.com.
