January 5, 2007

6 Min Read
REAL ESTATE

If you have a sales, grand opening, groundbreaking or other transaction you would like listed here, e-mail detailed information and a high-resolution digital photo, if available, to [email protected].

Barker Pacific Group, in a venture through its affiliate Union Development Co., recently acquired an eight-property portfolio and retained Buchanan Storage Capitalfor $19 million in financing. The properties are located throughout California and include more than 500,000 in net rentable square feet and 4,000 units. The portfolio was sold by Empire Companies for just over $30 million and will operate under the Storage Solutions brand.

Buchanan structured an aggressive fixed-rate loan that funded below breakeven debt coverage and a letter of credit to secure full proceeds. Additionally, the financing featured five years of interest only, followed by a 30-year amortization schedule.

With the acquisition of Empire Self Storage, Los Angeles based Union Development Co. now owns a total of 18 self-storage properties, adding to its existing 1.8 million-square-foot commercial real estate portfolio. Info: 800.675.1902, www.buchananstoragecapital.com

Michael A. Mele and Kevin R. Gordon of The Mele Storage Group announced the sale of Murphys Mini Storage. The 14,136-rentable-square-foot facility in Winter Haven, Fla., was sold to a local business owner entering the self-storage industry. The Mele Storage Group of Marcus & Millichap, Tampa,represented the seller.

Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Pogoda Management Co. was awarded contracts to open and manage a new 350-unit self-storage property in Clarkston, Mich., and to re-brand and manage an existing 505-unit property in Warren, Mich. The 28,175-square-foot first phase of Maxx Self-Storage in Clarkston features heated and cooled storage spaces; a covered loading area; drive-up storage spaces; RV and boat storage along with a dump station, security cameras and video taping; and a computer-controlled access system.

Pogoda also assumed management of the 82,500-square-foot former Safety Mini Storage and renamed it National Storage Center of Warren. Re-branding included new managers, a logo, marketing program, website and operational resources. Info: 616.538.9900, www.pogodaco.com

Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial facilitated the sale of Corona Self Storage, a 62,339-square-foot facility in Riverside, Calif. The sale was valued at more than $6 million. The seller was Corona Self Storage. The buyer was Santa Monica-based The William Warren Group Inc.,which will operate the facility under its trade name, StorQuest Self Storage.

The William Warren Group currently owns and operates 35 facilities throughout the West and Hawaii. Corona Self Storage has 497 units and 102 RV, boat and vehicle storage spaces. Built in 1984, the project is 90 percent occupied.

Greg Wells and Joe Saltzman of Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial handled negotiations on behalf of both the buyer and seller. Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial is a San Diego-based commercial real estate brokerage firm. Info: www.brecommercial.com 

Carefree Center a 65,000-accommodate small-provides onsite storage from high-is the developed locations and Hudson, Argus Self Storage Sales Network broker affiliate W. Frost Weaver, of Weaver Realty Group Inc., represented the seller of D&D Storagein Kissimmee, Fla. The 45,950-square-foot property, which includes expansion land, sold for $3.2 million at a 7.9 percent cap rate. Info: 800.55.STORE, www.selfstorage.com

Nick Malagisi, senior advisor and national director of self-storage for Sperry Van Ness in Williamsville, N.Y., and associate broker, Thomas Ruthven, completed two transactions totaling $3.8 million for two facilities. The company represented the buyer, a New York-based private investor and the seller, Personal Storage Systems, in the sale of a $1.3 million property in Batavia, N.Y. The facility closed at $38 per square foot net rentable. The site, built in 1985, has seven buildings and a managers office. The property can be expanded by three buildings for a combined 16,860 square feet.

The second sale, a $2.5 million facility in Wheatfield, N.Y., closed at a price of $55 per square foot net rentable, sold by a private investor to American Mini Storage. The 365-unit site consists of five self-storage buildings, a free-standing retail managers office, a two-family home and a two-story remodeled barn. It opened in 2004 and achieved 90 percent occupancy in its first year of business. Info: 716.633.9601, www.svn.com

Simply Self Storage purchased a self-storage portfolio consisting of 48 properties in six states from EZ Storage.The facilities total 3.7 million rentable square feet and 30,800 units in Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.

Simply also bought a new site incorporating 316 units in 26,000 rentable square feet in St. Clair Shores, Mich. The company has offices and self-storage projects totaling more than 10 million square feet and nearly 150 operating facilities in 16 states and Puerto Rico. Info: 407.248.7878, [email protected]

Carefree Self-Storage & Business Center opened in Rogers, Minn., offering a 65,000-square-foot first phase to accommodate a variety of storage and small-business requirements. The facility provides office suites and temperature-controlled storage, with drive-thru service, onsite managers and oversized RV storage and power doors. Office suites, from 325 to 1,700 square feet, incorporate high-speed Internet and all utilities. This is the fourth Carefree Self-Storage facility developed by owner Al Schrader. Other locations are in Blaine and Fridley, Minn. and Hudson, Wis.

Marc Boorstein, principal with MJ Partners Real Estate Services announces the sale of the LifeStorage Chicago portfolio of six newly opened self-storage facilities and Sauk Trail Self Storage for a total of $52.5 million to Simply Self Storage. LifeStorage portfolio comprises six facilities totaling 3,854 storage units offering 441,221 rentable square feet. The properties are in Algonquin, Carpentersville, Chicago, Elgin, Markham and Matteson, Ill.

The newly built Sauk Trail Storage in South Chicago Heights consists of 61,800 square feet with 319 units and features complete drive-thru access. All sites will be re-branded Simply Self Storage. Info: 312.726.5800, [email protected]

Equibase Capital Group, a private-equity, real estate investment firm based in Chicago, acquired six Class A self-storage properties recently constructed in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. The properties were acquired through a joint venture with Extra Space Storage Inc.

The portfolio aggregates more than 5,000 units and 550,000 square feet of space, and continues the relationship between Equibase and Extra Space Storage that started in 1990. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Extra Space Storage, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a real estate investment trust that owns or operates 640 self-storage properties in 32 states. Equibase specializes in providing equity and subordinated debt capital to real estate operators and developers. Info: www.equibasecapital.com

Smartbox, a Va.-based portable self-storage company, is bringing its storage solutions to Baltimore, continuing an expansion in recent months that has included new franchises in Atlanta, New Orleans, Raleigh, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla. Smartbox enables users to pack and load belongings at their convenience in containers that are 8 feet long, 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Info: www.smartboxusa.com

Florida-based Sentry Self Storage,

providers of management services to independent owners and investors, has been awarded management contracts for a four-property portfolio. The Champion Self Storage portfolio consists of two properties in Palm Coast, Palatka and Jacksonville, Fla., comprising 350,160 square feet in 2,608 units. Info: 214.446.6688, www.sentry-selfstorage.com

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