eKourier Jan 2010

Spotlight on Ultimo...

customers, from our regulars that like to come in for a chat, to the not so regular eccentric locals. We are also the preferred centres for some famous faces - Jon Stevens, Penny Wong, Axel Whitehead and a heap of Home and Away stars. It is fair to say that we have had some challenges in occupancy and income. Currently our occupancy is 85% and 77% respectively. A lot of our commercial customers experienced some tough times in their own business and moved on. Lately however we’ve seen a shift back and are getting more enquires and move ins, so we are looking forward to a more positive business environment. The Team Ultimo is certainly not the newest or most trendy looking centre in the chain but we do have a fantastic location and offer a great customer experience to all who visit us. Our team consists of 4 full time team members. Alex Shapiro - Manager, Diana Pena, Dominic Allen, and Karen Bell, Assistant managers .

Site Features What really makes Ultimo special is the location . We are officially in the CBD precinct of Sydney just behind Darling Harbour and we are the only self storage facility in the area, with no immediate competitors. As the buildings are tall they can be seen from many vantage points around the city. For a long time the area was

(L to R) Dominic Allen, Alex Shapiro, Diana Pena and Karen Bell.

History At Ultimo we have 2 separate buildings which are 100 metres apart divided by a busy road. Both buildings were old Millers sites and were converted to Storage in (1980 - U1) and (1985 - U2). (Both were built in 1937). Prior to this the buildings have had various uses including wool stores, fabric storage and Grace Bros Stock room store for the flagship Broadway Store which was down the road.

strictly commercial, however, over the last 5 years it has changed into residential. There are 731 units in Ultimo 1 and 569 units in Ultimo 2. There is an even spread of commercial to residential customers, with a huge number of them being international students. We run both centres out of the one office at Ultimo 1.

We certainly have an eclectic mix of

Donated Space for ClothesLine “To support homeless and needy Australians, by providing them with new or good quality used

KSS were recently approached by the charity organisation ClothesLine, to help store their donated items for the homeless. KSS were able to help out by donating some warehouse space at one of our centres in Sydney. clothing and other essential items such as blankets and toiletries. Our aim is to make a noticeable difference to their lives, by improving their comfort, self image and employment prospects.”

The founders of ClothesLine have been involved in feeding and providing support to Sydney’s homeless for several years. During that time, it became apparent that there was a desperate need for a new, mobile support service, which could provide disadvantaged people with good quality clothing and other essential items such as blankets and toiletries. It is widely accepted that good clothing can make a noticeable difference to the lives of homeless and disadvantaged people. KSS are happy to be helping ClothesLine, hopefully making their endeavours a little easier and the lives of the homeless a bit happier.

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Kennards Kourier January 2010