Big Jim Self Storage in Bradenton, Fla., was recently sold from Big Jim III LLC of Sarasota, Fla., to Storage Quest LLC of Winter Garden, Fla., for approximately $6 million. Located at 6403 State Road 64 E., the 90,964-square-foot facility sits on approximately 6 acres of land. It contains 626 storage units, 457 of which are climate-controlled, and was built in 2003.

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services brokered the transaction. Both buyer and seller were represented by Michael Mele, a first vice president of investments for the firm and senior director of its National Self-Storage Group in the Tampa, Fla., office.

"This self-storage transaction is an indicator of how competitive the market is for class-A properties," Mele said. "I think it is fair to say that cap rates for high-quality facilities like Big Jim are back to pre-crash levels."

In February, Big Jim IV LLC bought a similar 57,000-square-foot property in North Port, Fla., from AERL LC, a subsidiary of American Equity Life Insurance Co., for $2.05 million. The building formerly belonged to Toledo Blade Self Storage LLC, a Naples, Fla., company that paid $972,400 for it in June 2006. Toledo Blade defaulted on a $3.75 million loan from American Equity Life in May 2010.

Like Big Jim III, Big Jim IV is a Sarasota company that lists Dora Maria Thomas as its registered agent.

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