Storage unit facility opens at former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property in Greenfield

Greenfield Mayor Ginny Desorgher, left, talks with Premier Self Storage owners Ellen and Jim Boyle at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 105 Newton St. last week.

Greenfield Mayor Ginny Desorgher, left, talks with Premier Self Storage owners Ellen and Jim Boyle at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 105 Newton St. last week. STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI

A storage unit facility has opened at the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property at 105 Newton St. in Greenfield.

A storage unit facility has opened at the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property at 105 Newton St. in Greenfield. STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI

A storage unit facility has opened on the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property at 105 Newton St. in Greenfield.

A storage unit facility has opened on the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property at 105 Newton St. in Greenfield. STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI

A storage unit facility has opened at the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property at 105 Newton St. in Greenfield.

A storage unit facility has opened at the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property at 105 Newton St. in Greenfield. STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI

By DOMENIC POLI

Staff Writer

Published: 10-10-2024 10:44 AM

Modified: 10-10-2024 7:55 PM


GREENFIELD — A storage unit facility has opened at the former Rugg Manufacturing Co. property.

Premier Self Storage at 105 Newton St., which offers 197 climate-controlled units of various sizes, welcomed Mayor Ginny Desorgher at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its grand opening last week.

“It’s always a wonderful day for the city when any business is opening, and this is a wonderful addition to our community,” Desorgher told owners Jim and Ellen Boyle and their family. “I wanted to extend my congratulations to you and to wish you many years of success, all of you.”

Desorgher also presented the Boyles with a proclamation declaring that Oct. 4, 2024, was Premier Self Storage Day in Greenfield, much to the owners’ delight.

“The town is really happy about this,” Jim Boyle said of the facility. “I think that the people that are coming here are psyched that it’s new.”

The main structure that once stood at 105 Newton St. was built in 1855 and was originally called the Munson Baby Carriage Factory. The second building on the site was used to store lumber from a company across the street. Amos Rugg had started the company in 1842, making wooden hay rakes out of a factory in Montague. After that factory burned down in 1889, the business relocated to 105 Newton St. It was most recently the location of Rugg Manufacturing Co., which in 2013 was sold to new owners after 124 years.

According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the main structure had also been home to an arms factory, cutlery or edged tool factory, and military manufacturing facility during World War II.

“It was so old, though ... it was kind of almost like a fire hazard type of thing,” Jim Boyle said. “So the town was actually kind of happy when I came in and talked about wanting to do this.”

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“It’s beautiful,” Ellen Boyle said, adding that the city was a pleasure to work with to get the business up and running.

The Boyles also own ASAP Painting and Kitchen Concepts, both based in Hadley. They built a storage unit facility in Westfield about three years but have since sold it. They have no intention, however, of selling the Greenfield facility anytime soon. The facility’s lone employee is manager Kathleen LaCross.

The business is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment on Saturdays. The front office can be reached at 413-366-3586 or office@premierselfstoragellc.com. More information is available at premierselfstoragellc.com.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.