Self-Storage Facility Construction in Amarillo, Texas

Storage buildings look simple until the plat comes back. A row of drive-up units on a few acres seems like the easiest commercial project there is, but in the Amarillo area the real questions come before the first footing: whether the land can be platted, who maintains the detention pond, and whether the parcel sits inside the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction where the city, not the county, has the final word.

We build self-storage facilities for developers, investors and operators across the metro and the Panhandle towns. The product is straightforward: single-story rows of metal-clad buildings with roll-up doors, sometimes with climate-controlled multi-story buildings near busy corridors, plus a rental office, fencing, gates and a drive aisle wide enough for a moving truck. The profit lies in building it efficiently, so the number of repeated details, the slab and the door package matter more than architecture.

What follows is how we plan a storage project in this market, from site selection through lease-up. If you are comparing it with a different low-rise product, our metal building page covers the structural system that most storage rows use.

The first approval is the land. In unincorporated Randall County, the 2023 subdivision regulations make it unlawful to subdivide land or sell building lots without an approved plat, though divisions into parts greater than 10 acres with access and no public improvement are exempt. Drainage easements must extend to the limit of the 100-year floodplain, and the county says it will not maintain retention and detention facilities. A perpetual entity, such as an owners' association, must. For a storage developer who plans to sell off pads or phase the build, that is a real legal and cost item.

Potter County adopted revised subdivision regulations in December 2023, requiring a comprehensive drainage plan and city approval first for plats in Amarillo's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Randall County also requires a floodplain development permit before construction, with a Class A permit outside the floodplain and a Class B permit in or partly within it. Inside the city, permits go through MGO Connect, and our permitting and entitlements team walks a parcel through whichever path applies.

A typical storage row is a pre-engineered metal building with a light slab, often 10 to 12 feet deep from the door line, set on a prepared base. The structural frame is lighter than a warehouse and the walls are mostly door openings, so the cost is in the doors, the slab and the labor to repeat the same unit hundreds of times. We aim for a module that matches standard panel and door sizes, so that cutting and waste stay low. For the frame, the pre-engineered metal buildings trade partners erect rows in sequence, so doors and slab finishers do not stand idle.

Climate-controlled buildings add insulation, HVAC and interior corridors. Multi-story versions need an elevator, a fire sprinkler system and a stronger structure. These buildings cost much more per square foot and make sense where land is costly or the market pays a premium for controlled units. Site elements include perimeter fencing, keypad gates, lighting, cameras and paving for fire apparatus access. We detail the paving for trucks and trailers, because a loaded moving truck punches through thin asphalt.

The dominant soil on the high plains around Amarillo is a Pullman clay loam, with 35 to 50 percent clay and cracks that open when it dries. A thin storage slab on untreated clay curls and cracks, and a cracked slab means doors that no longer seal. We prepare the subgrade with moisture conditioning and compaction, place a base layer and cut joints on a pattern that follows the door spacing. Footings follow the same logic, and the city's residential code, which is not the commercial standard, is a useful reference for the 24-inch minimum footing depth practice in this area.

Wind is the other force. Long, low metal buildings with many door openings catch a gust, and the record 83 mph gust recorded at the airport in March 2025 is a useful reminder of the load. We specify door tracks, end-wall bracing and roof fasteners to the design wind, and detail the roof edge to resist uplift. Dust drives security and cleanliness as much as weather, so we seal door jambs and keep drive aisles paved. The site development and utilities trade partners prepare the pads.

Storage is bought on cost per rentable square foot, so efficiency matters. The drivers are land, site work, the frame and the door package, in roughly that order for a rural or edge-of-town project. Site work includes grading, drainage, detention and paving, and on clay with playa-lake drainage nearby it can be a large share of the budget. The city is spending money on drainage itself: a playa lake project near I-40 and Western Street adds a new pump station and sends stormwater to a creek, taking at least two years once design is finished. That tells you the area has real water issues, and it is worth asking where your site drains.

Utilities are usually modest for storage, since there is little plumbing, but power for gates, lights and any climate control must be sized. Phasing is the strongest cost tool. Build the first rows and the office, lease them up and then build more. We design the site so that later phases connect without tearing up the earlier ones, and our preconstruction estimating shows the cost of each phase before you commit.

Storage demand follows housing, military and industrial employment, and moves. The city approved a water main extension in northwest Amarillo to support growth of over 1,000 new homes and several businesses, and new neighborhoods eventually mean storage on the nearest arterial. The Pantex plant northeast of Amarillo reported employment growing to upwards of 4,600 and plans to house 300 employees in Amarillo, which adds renters who may need storage during relocation. Commuter towns such as Fritch, a bedroom community north of Amarillo, show the other pattern: smaller, simpler facilities on the edge of town.

Highway frontage helps. Bushland sits on Interstate 40 west of Amarillo, and the corridor carries traffic that notices a facility with good signage. If your project is part of a larger development, we can build storage as a phase that also supports a flex industrial or retail neighbor. Operators with several sites can use our program approach to repeat one design across towns.

Send the acreage, the county or city and the unit mix you have in mind. We will check the platting and drainage path, price the first phase and show what later phases add.

Can I build storage outside the city limits?

Often yes, but the platting and floodplain rules in the county apply, and the city controls plats inside its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Randall and Potter counties each have subdivision regulations, and Randall requires a floodplain permit before construction. We check which rules govern your parcel before you spend on design.

How many units can I build on a given site?

That depends on setbacks, fire apparatus access, detention area and drive aisle widths. A site plan usually yields a lower unit count than the raw acreage suggests. We prepare a layout study in preconstruction so you can test it against the price of the land.

Who maintains the detention pond?

In Randall County's unincorporated areas the county says it will not maintain retention and detention facilities, so a perpetual entity, such as an owners' association, must. Inside the city, the city's drainage rules apply. We plan the pond, access and maintenance responsibility into the site plan.

What slab thickness do you use?

It depends on the soil report, the loads and the use. Drive-up units need a smooth floor for hand carts and vehicles, and truck aisles need a stronger section. The thickness matters less than the subgrade preparation and the joint layout, which prevent curling and cracks.