The South Florida Business Journal covered the opening of Full Stop Garage in Doral: the lease on a former federal evidence warehouse, what the building already had that made it worth taking, and founder Ken Russell's case for a storage business that is not a members' club.
“What's in the middle that hasn't really been tapped is just a true high-quality, but no-frills, drivers' garage.”
South Florida has no shortage of places to put a car that matters to you. What it mostly has is clubs: membership, an event calendar, a lounge, and storage happening somewhere underneath all of it. That model works for the people who want it, and it prices in a great deal that has nothing to do with whether your car is safe.
The Business Journal's piece covers the opposite bet. Full Stop Garage took a building that was already built to hold things the federal government could not afford to lose, and turned it into climate-controlled storage without attaching a social club to the invoice. Bulletproof glass and full fire suppression came with the lease. The lounge did not, because there isn't one.
That is the whole argument, and it is the one the reporting draws out: between the barn at one end and the club at the other, there was a gap where a driver could leave a car in a serious building, get it back running and clean, and not buy a membership to do it.
What was reported
- A five-year lease on 15,000 square feet at 8080 NW 33rd Street in Doral, with a five-year extension option. Move-in was in June.
- The building is a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection evidence warehouse, which is why it already had bulletproof glass, steel roll-down doors, electromagnetic and deadbolt locks, night-vision cameras and full fire suppression.
- As configured it holds about 50 cars. Triple-high racks are planned, which raises that.
- Storage runs from $749 a month to $1,249 with services such as regular startups and washes. Combustion and electric vehicles are both accepted.
- Ken Russell served on the Miami City Commission from 2015 to 2022.
- More locations are intended, in South Florida and beyond it, aimed at suburbs rather than the urban core.
Published by South Florida Business Journal, reported by Mark Dovich. The publisher's version may require a subscription. Reprinted here by permission, 3 pages, 466KB PDF.
Media enquiries
For interviews, a walkthrough of the floor or photography, contact info@fullstopgarage.com or 786-245-3246.