Public Storage Subsidiary Buys 2 Sarasota, FL, Self-Storage Facilities

PS Florida One Inc., a subsidiary of self-storage real estate investment trust Public Storage Inc., recently acquired two self-storage properties in Sarasota, Fla., for $23 million. The sellers were two subsidiaries of Columbia, Md.-based Cambridge Investment Co. Combined, the properties encompass 174,000 square feet of storage space.

Cambridge Investment purchased the 4.5-acre parcel at 1169 N. Beneva Road in 1999 for $850,000, according to the source. The following year, the company built five self-storage structures totaling 78,000 square feet on the property. In 2003, it purchased two buildings totaling 75,720 square feet at 4050 Bee Ridge Road for $3 million. Five more structures were constructed in 2005, adding nearly 20,000 square feet of storage space to the 5-acre property.

The Southwest Florida real estate market has seen a number of self-storage transactions in recent months, according to the source. Last month, Select Self Storage Holding Co. LLC, a Sarasota company managed by Neil Malamud, sold the 36,695-square-foot self-storage facility at 757 Apex Road for $1.3 million. The buyer was Big Jim VI, a Sarasota company that lists Dora Maria C. Thomas as its registered agent. Select Self Storage Holding acquired the four-building complex in June 2007 for $4 million.

Earlier this year, Olde Sarasota Associates LLC sold the 95,870-square-foot self-storage property at 4625 Clark Road for $7.5 million to a Sarasota company managed by Clark W. Porter, the source reported.

In addition to the acquisitions, PS Florida One is building a storage facility at 4550 Clark Road, also in Sarasota. The company purchased the 4.5-acre parcel of land for $1.3 million in January. The property will include five single-story structures, according to the source.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,202 self-storage facilities in 38 states, with approximately 141 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 188 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 10 million net rentable square feet.

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