A former Babies R Us store, which has been out of use since the chain closed all of its stores in 2018, is getting a long-awaited makeover into a self-storage facility.

The new facility, located at 3555 Citadel Drive, will be operated by Devon Self Storage. Originally, it was expected to be open by 2024.

It’s not the first time a former big-box retail store in Colorado Springs has been converted to a self-storage facility. A former Toys R Us store, located southwest of Academy Boulevard and Galley Road, was converted to a self-storage center in 2020. The retailer declared bankruptcy in 2017, and the local store closed in 2018.

In 2023, The Gazette reported Devon Self Storage was planning to open a new facility at the old Babies R Us site. Chicago-based Inland Real Estate Group, one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate companies, is leading the renovation effort.

Construction began slightly more than two years after plans were announced. That’s not out of the ordinary with the plan and permit submission, according to Greg Dingrando with the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

“It just took a while to make it through plan review with multiple submittals, but it finally got approval, and now with permits in place, they can start construction,” he said in an email. “The timeline is up to the builder.”

The project is a roughly $5 million effort, PPRBD shared on social media. The project will add rows of self-storage units on the west side of the parking lot, and the former retail store’s interior will be remodeled, according to plans submitted to the city.

Colorado Springs has no shortage of self-storage facilities, and there are at least 10 within 2 miles of the newest development. Most of the existing ones are concentrated on major arterial roads such as Academy Boulevard and Platte Avenue.

Keith Lampi, the president and CEO of Inland Private Capital Corporation, told The Gazette the location checked a lot of boxes, despite the nearby competition.

“One of the differentiating features of this new facility when compared to the competition is the ‘interior drive-through lane,’ providing the customer a safe, monitored and controlled environment,” Lampi said.

Based on its research of Colorado Springs, Inland believed the market could use another self-storage facility, Lampi said in 2023.

“Additional considerations that factored into the purchase decision were age of competition, management effectiveness, and use of technology, amenities and customer service,” Lampi said. “As a result, our analysis supports the expectation for strong and growing demand from users, particularly given the growth the market has and continues to experience.”

Members of Devon Self Storage and Inland did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Tuesday.