Motorola Founding Family Invests in Self-Storage

The family that founded Motorola Inc. and ran it for three generations is now investing in self-storage. Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, a private-equity firm co-founded in 2005 by former Motorola Chief Executive Christopher Galvin, recently announced plans to develop two self-storage facilities in Chicago and Evanston, Ill., for $15.5 million. Both areas have relatively little self-storage and more than 40 percent rental housing, according to Christopher Merrill, Harrison co-founder and managing principal. The company has self-storage interests in 11 additional states.

Harrison focuses mostly on recession-resistant assets, including university student housing, medical offices and senior-housing properties. For more information, visit www.harrisonst.com.