Self-Storage, Service and Small Commercial Construction in Bar Nunn, Wyoming
Streets in Bar Nunn follow old runway lines, so the first question we ask about a lot is what the ground has been through. The town was built around the runways of Wardwell Field, Casper's original airport, which served as the regional airport until 1952 when Casper-Natrona County International Airport replaced it. The old runways now form the town's street pattern. For a builder that is mostly good news: long straight streets, wide rights of way and lots that a truck can reach without a tight turn.
A town that grew about 35 percent, from 2,213 residents in 2010 to 2,981 in the 2020 census, needs the buildings that follow households. Bar Nunn sits at 5,285 feet in the Casper metropolitan statistical area, and its residents need storage for the things that do not fit in a home, shop space for the trades they work in and a few places to buy and eat close to home. We build those: self-storage, contractor shops and yards, small retail and service buildings.
Bar Nunn is about 180 miles northwest of Cheyenne by I-25, and we plan the trip as part of the job. The town is small enough that a lot with the right zoning and utilities is a straightforward buy, and a good builder keeps it that way.
Checking the lot, the plat and what is under it
Bar Nunn's town history says the Army Air Corps bought land along US Highway 20-26 in 1952 and moved the Natrona County airport to Casper. Rancher Romie Nunn bought back the 640 acre Wardwell Field property in 1954 for $20,500, subdivided it in 1958, and the area incorporated as a town in 1982. For you, that means platted lots with recorded boundaries, and it means we check the plat for easements and covenants before we design.
Because the town grew on a former airfield, we also ask whether the lot has old pavement, buried utilities or fill. We do not assume there is a problem, and we do not assume there is not one. Test pits and a geotechnical boring cost little against a footing that settles, and we recommend them on any lot where records are thin.
Storage, shops and neighborhood commercial
Growth creates storage demand. People who move into new homes bring boats, trailers and equipment that do not fit, and an owner who builds self-storage units in a growing town can rent units as fast as they open. We build drive-up units on a poured slab with steel framing and metal doors, laid out with generous drive aisles so a truck and trailer can turn. Phasing helps: build the first rows, lease them, and add more as demand shows.
Trades and small contractors need a place to put a truck, a trailer and a stock of material. A shop with a few overhead doors, a fenced yard and an office suits them, and we build it as a storage and service facility that can be divided into leased bays. For neighborhood retail, we provide small buildings with parking up front and a service door at the back.
Fitting a build into one Natrona County season
The metro setting works in your favor. Ready-mix, rebar and steel suppliers in the Casper area can reach Bar Nunn quickly, so deliveries are short even when the project team travels from farther away. We still order the steel early, because the package is the longest lead on any metal building and nothing else on site can proceed without it.
We plan the sequence to avoid the cold at both ends. We try to place footings and slabs in the warm months, erect the frame as soon as it arrives and close the building before freeze-up, so doors, lighting and electrical finish under cover. A simple storage building can be complete in one season, which lets the owner begin renting sooner.
Paving, drainage and the lot around the building
In storage and yard projects, the pavement can cost as much as the building. Truck courts, drive aisles and parking see loaded vehicles every day, and a thin base turns into ruts after the first wet spring. The parking lot construction trade partners design the base, drainage and pavement thickness to match the traffic you expect, not a minimum.
Drainage on a flat former airfield deserves attention. Wide, flat lots do not shed water on their own, so we grade for positive flow, size culverts and keep stormwater from backing up against a slab. Done right, you never think about it. Done wrong, you see standing water at the door for years.
One crew across the Casper metro
Bar Nunn is one of several small towns around Casper that share suppliers, inspectors and trades. If you own property in more than one, we can build in Mills, Evansville and Casper with coordinated trade partners and the same drawings, which saves design cost and keeps details consistent.
For a developer, a repeatable prototype for storage or small commercial buildings across these towns can be efficient. Retail chains and service franchises that want a standard store across the metro can use the same approach. We will walk your lot and give you a price in writing.
Build in Bar Nunn
Send us the lot or the idea. We will check the plat, the ground and the zoning, then give you a price and a schedule.
Questions Owners Ask
Does the old airfield affect my building?
It can, so we check. The town was built around the runways of Wardwell Field, and we look at the plat, the records and the soil before designing. A boring and a few test pits show whether the ground is uniform. If it is not, we adjust the foundation and tell you what it costs.
Is self-storage a good fit for a town this size?
Bar Nunn grew about 35 percent in a decade, and new households need storage. We can build in phases so you add rows as the first ones lease. We help you size the first phase to your budget and your market.
How do I find out what is allowed on my lot?
Start with the recorded plat and the town's zoning. We pull both, check the setbacks, easements and use limits and tell you what can be built. Wyoming has no single statewide building code, so we also confirm the codes the town enforces.
What does the base for a truck yard need to be?
It depends on the loads, but it is thicker than a typical parking lot. We specify the base depth, the pavement or gravel surface and the drainage from the vehicle weights you expect. Skimping on the base is the most common reason yards fail.
Can you build in other Casper-area towns for me?
Yes. We work in Mills, Evansville and Casper, among others. The same crew can handle a second site, and shared drawings reduce your design cost.