WINONA, Minn. – The vacant Shopko property on the Far West End on the Cottonwood Drive stub has been acquired by the U-Haul vehicle rental company through an auction. Bob Bambenek, the county property tax recorder, said the price was $2.25 million. The online auction was conducted by X-Ten commercial real estate brokers. Bidding began at $500,000. The big-box store, built in 1986, closed in June 2019 when the Wisconsin-based Shopko chain entered bankruptcy. The U-Haul deal is for the 84,000 square foot building on an 11-acre parcel.
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U-Haul. The Arizona-based company has been acquiring orphaned big-box buildings for rental storage units, for moving supply sales, and for its signature orange rental trailers and trucks.