For collectors, the problem is often not finding the next car. It is finding the right place to keep it.
Home garages fill up, valuable cars compete for space, and traditional storage rarely offers the privacy, ownership, or atmosphere that serious collectors want.
Motor-Vault is bringing a different model to Lake Keowee in Six Mile, South Carolina, with approximately 49 deeded private garage suites planned inside a gated, members-only community.
Known as Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee, the new development combines private garage ownership, secure car storage, customizable garage condominiums, and a social-club atmosphere designed around the Lake Keowee lifestyle.
While collector cars remain a natural fit, the larger suites can also accommodate boats, RVs, motorcycles, and other recreational vehicles commonly owned throughout the area.
Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee is a new South Carolina development, but the company behind it is already well established. Motor-Vault’s first two Arizona communities, Fountain Hills and Deer Valley, are completely sold out, representing 103 privately owned garage suites.
That track record is an important foundation for what Motor-Vault is bringing to South Carolina.
Private Garage Condominiums Near Lake Keowee
Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee is planned for Walhalla Highway (SC 183) at Old Keowee Church Road in Six Mile.
The community will feature approximately 49 deeded garage suites across four buildings on 4.07 acres. There is only one planned phase. Once those suites are spoken for, the community is complete.
Example of an existing Motor-Vault garage suite in Arizona, shown in a social setting with owners and guests gathered around collector cars. The photo illustrates how a customized suite can serve as both private vehicle storage and a comfortable gathering space. This is not the future Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee location.
Unlike conventional rental storage, each Motor-Vault suite is deeded real estate inside a private, gated garage community. Owners can personalize their space around their collection, hobbies, and lifestyle, while retaining the ability to hold, sell, lease, or eventually pass the property down.
For collectors searching for car storage near Lake Keowee, a private car condo, or simply more room for a growing collection, Motor-Vault offers an ownership alternative to continuing to rent storage space.
Motor-Vault Lake Keowee Garage Suite Features
Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee | Fast Facts
- Location: SC 183 & Old Keowee Church Rd, Six Mile, SC
- Site Density: ~49 deeded suites across 4 buildings on 4.07 acres (Single Phase)
- Clearances & Power: Up to 20′ ceiling clearance, 14′ overhead doors, dedicated 100A service, 50A RV hookup
- Suite Inclusions: Climate-controlled HVAC, individual submetering, fully plumbed for private restrooms
- Amenities: Gated 24/7 security, members-only clubhouse, outdoor patio, wash bay & RV dump station
These features allow an owner to begin with a secure private garage and create a space that can range from straightforward collector-car storage to a highly personalized automotive retreat.
Site plan for Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee showing the 49 private garage suites offered in various sizes, four building sections, clubhouse, patio, pull-through suites, and internal drive layout.
Built Around the Lake Keowee Lifestyle
Lake Keowee gives this Motor-Vault community a character that is distinctly different from a typical urban car-storage development.
Three boat ramps are located within approximately three miles of the property, putting owners just minutes from the water.
Clemson, SC, is about 20 minutes away, while Greenville, SC is roughly an hour from the site.
That positioning makes Motor-Vault Lakeside relevant not only to collectors living around Lake Keowee, but also to owners looking for private car storage near Clemson or a deeded garage condominium within reach of Greenville, South Carolina.
Inside an existing Motor-Vault garage suite in Arizona, showing how owners can customize their space for collector cars, motorcycles, boats, lifts, storage, and mezzanine use. (This is an existing Motor-Vault community and is not the Lake Keowee location.)
The larger garage configurations can accommodate boats, trailers, RVs, and other recreational vehicles that are part of life around the lake, while five pull-through suites give owners the convenience of entering from one side and exiting from the other.
Motor-Vault is designed to give owners a private garage they can make their own. For many owners, that means transforming the suite into part garage and part private retreat, with features such as a golf simulator, bar, lounge area, or big-screen TVs for game day. As Vern Haugen puts it, the suite can become “the toy itself.”
More Than Storage: A Private Owners Club
The garage itself is only part of the Motor-Vault concept.
Motor-Vault communities combine private ownership with an active social environment built around people who often share many of the same interests.
At Motor-Vault Lake Keowee, planned monthly member activities include Boats & Bagels, Cars & Coffee, Clemson game-day watch parties, scenic drives, and block-party-style open-suite evenings where owners can gather and show what they have created inside their private spaces.
Motor-Vault’s planned private clubhouse will host monthly member events, social gatherings, and owner activities designed to build community beyond the garage.
Shelby Haugen describes the community side of the concept simply:
“People come for the space, but stay for the people.”
Owners still have their own private sanctuary behind a secure garage door, but they are also part of a community where the person a few suites away may collect vintage Porsches, restore American muscle cars, enjoy motorsports, or simply appreciate spending time around great automobiles, boats, and RVs.
The members-only clubhouse and patio give owners a shared place to gather without taking away from the privacy of their individual garage suites.
That combination of ownership, privacy, personalization, and community is central to the Motor-Vault Car Condo Club concept.
A custom Motor-Vault garage suite can be much more than storage, with room for multiple vehicles, custom toolboxes, wall art, and a mezzanine lounge designed for relaxing and sharing the space with friends, family, and fellow car enthusiasts. (This is an existing Motor-Vault community and is not the Lake Keowee location.)
When the Garage Becomes Part of the Collection
Motor-Vault founder Vern Haugen created the company after encountering a problem familiar to many collectors.
After downsizing his home, Haugen no longer had enough garage space for his vehicles and other equipment. Some ended up at his office warehouse, while others were stored elsewhere. Rather than simply continue renting space, he began studying existing garage developments and asking owners what they liked and what they would improve.
That research helped shape the Motor-Vault concept. What surprised Haugen after owners moved in was how quickly the garage itself became part of the lifestyle.
As he explains:
“After closing, owners realize the garage suite is the toy itself, and enjoy decorating it and turning it into their personal hangout.”
Some owners have transformed their suites into polished private retreats featuring lounges, bars, televisions, golf simulators, automotive memorabilia, dramatic lighting, mezzanines, and collector-car displays.
Others keep their suites much simpler and focused on their toys.
Motor-Vault owner Chip Beck famously compared his suite to the treehouse he built as a boy—a private place where nobody entered without an invitation. He sums up that enduring feeling as “my space, my stuff, my rules.”
For many owners, the garage starts as the solution to a storage problem and eventually becomes part of the collection itself.
Deeded Ownership Instead of Renting Storage
Motor-Vault emphasizes another important distinction between its garage condominiums and traditional storage facilities: the suites are deeded real estate.
Owners can customize the garage, enjoy it, sell it, lease it, or eventually pass it down.
Haugen also views ownership from the perspective of a longtime real-estate developer. Rather than continually paying rent for storage owned by someone else, a Motor-Vault owner holds a tangible real-estate asset that can appreciate over time.
In his interview, Haugen contrasts the ongoing depreciation and maintenance associated with many cars, boats, and other recreational assets with his experience owning commercial real estate. He describes the garage itself as something that can be enjoyed today while retaining value for the future.
That ownership component is one of the fundamental differences between a car condo and a conventional rented car-storage space.
The Lake Keowee Project Is Bringing This Sold-Out Concept to the Southeast
Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee will be new to South Carolina, but the company is bringing an established garage condominium and private-club model with it.
Motor-Vault’s original community in Fountain Hills, Arizona, included 30 private garage suites and sold out.
The company followed with Deer Valley, where another 73 suites sold out. Together, the two communities represent 103 sold Motor-Vault garage condominiums.
“A Peek Inside The Motor-Vault Fountain Hills, AZ Garages and Community”
Those locations established both sides of the Motor-Vault formula: individually owned garage space and a community built around the people who own it.
Existing owners gather for drives, parties, clubhouse activities, and other events, while many spend hours enjoying their own customized suites. Haugen describes owners stopping by when neighboring garage doors are open and the relationships among owners becoming an important part of the Motor-Vault experience.
For prospective Motor-Vault Lake Keowee owners, Fountain Hills and Deer Valley provide a working example of the private garage community Motor-Vault is building in South Carolina.
Inside Motor-Vault: Founder Vern Haugen Explains the Concept
In the video below, Motor-Vault founder Vern Haugen explains how the company began, why private garage ownership became important to him, and how owners have turned their suites into everything from sophisticated collector-car spaces to personal retreats.
The walkthrough also provides a look inside existing Motor-Vault communities and owner suites. The footage does not depict the future Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee development.
Queen Creek Continues Motor-Vault’s Arizona Growth
While Motor-Vault expands into South Carolina, the company continues to grow its Arizona Car Condo Club locations, led by its newest active development, Motor-Vault Queen Creek.
Located in Arizona’s East Valley off Loop 202, Queen Creek is now selling across 53 private garage suites.
The development includes HVAC in every suite, 19-foot ceilings, RV-ready power, six pull-through suites, and 16 suites with mezzanine options.
Conceptual rendering of the gated entrance and clubhouse at Motor-Vault Queen Creek in Arizona, illustrating the luxury garage-condo community’s upscale design, private member setting, and premium car-storage environment.
Like Motor-Vault Lake Keowee, Queen Creek combines private garage ownership with shared amenities. The community includes a members clubhouse, pull-through wash bay, RV dump station, and a calendar of members-only events.
Queen Creek represents the continued evolution of the Motor-Vault model while the company expands into new markets.
A Proven Track Record With More Motor-Vault Communities Coming
Beyond Queen Creek, Motor-Vault’s Arizona expansion continues.
Motor-Vault Peoria at Lake Pleasant Parkway is planned for 56 private garage suites, with reservations expected to become available soon.
Additional Arizona projects are planned at Peoria 303 & Happy Valley and in Scottsdale at Shea & Loop 101.
Aerial view of Motor-Vault Fountain Hills in Arizona, showing the completed private garage condominium community with multiple buildings, landscaped grounds, parking areas, and surrounding neighborhood.
Across the Southeast, Motor-Vault is also working on developments in Franklin, Tennessee, and near Road Atlanta in Georgia.
That continuing expansion puts Motor-Vault Lake Keowee into perspective.
The South Carolina location is not a standalone experiment. It represents the expansion of an ownership and private-club model already established through Motor-Vault’s Arizona communities.
Readers can explore all current and upcoming Motor-Vault locations.
Bringing the Motor-Vault Community to Lake Keowee
For collectors looking for car or toy storage around Lake Keowee South Carolina additional garage space near Clemson, or a privately owned car condominium within reach of Greenville, Motor-Vault is bringing an ownership-driven alternative to Upstate South Carolina.
Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee combines deeded ownership, security, customization, privacy, shared amenities, and an enthusiast community.
It gives owners somewhere to protect the collection, but just as importantly, somewhere to enjoy it.
That may ultimately be what defines the Motor-Vault model: the garage begins as the solution to a storage problem and becomes part of the lifestyle itself.
Reservations for Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee are scheduled to open soon, with approximately 49 suites planned in a single phase.
Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee
Private Garage Condominiums & Car Storage
Location: Walhalla Highway (SC 183) at Old Keowee Church Road, Six Mile, South Carolina (View Map)
Proximity: Lake Keowee, SC, Clemson, SC, and the greater Greenville, SC area
Reservations & Inquiries: Shelby Haugen
Phone: 706-842-0809
Email: georgia@motor-vault.com
Website: Motor-Vault Lakeside @ Lake Keowee
Instagram: @motorvaultusa
Facebook: Motor-Vault Luxury Toy Garages
Investment Opportunities: Accredited investors interested in Motor-Vault development opportunities may also contact Shelby Haugen at georgia@motor-vault.com.
