(excerpt from article originally published by Daniel Bradley on September 23, 2022 in the IBJ)
Jim Sapp never expected to start a business specializing in renting storage space to other companies. And he couldn’t have dreamed that it would grow to nine locations with more on the way.
In fact, Sapp said he sort of lucked into the business. “Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but it’s true,” he said.
Sapp’s company, Indianapolis-based Rise Commercial District, has locations throughout Indiana and Ohio and is planning more around the Midwest. They’re part of a co-warehousing movement that provides small companies with flexible space as they grow, much like office co-working space does. Co-warehousing customers run the gamut of industries, but the service appeals particularly to logistics and e-commerce firms.
Rise Commercial District grew out of an idea that took root after Sapp bought a struggling lumberyard when he needed more space for his garage door company.
It was during the Great Recession in 2009. Sapp noticed the owners of Butz Lumber Co. were selling their property at 8070 Castleton Road.
“So we moved in and, lo and behold, people started coming to me saying, ‘Jim, can I just rent a thousand square feet?’” Sapp said. It was an easy yes. He had 50,000 square feet in six buildings and didn’t need nearly that much. “So I just started renting space.”
Soon after, Sapp opened his first Rise Commercial District location. He sold Access Garage Door in 2013 to focus on Rise full time.
“We started by default—by people needing smaller space during the recession—and then we’ve refined it,” Sapp said.
Read the entire article on the IBJ website.
PHOTO INFO: Matt Hunt, terminal manager for the local office of Denver-based AAA Interstate Transportation, says the Rise Commercial District space in Noblesville offers him convenience and security. (IBJ photo/Eric Learned)
