Self-Storage developer Banner Storage Group LLC has purchased a 22,224-square-foot development site at 1807 W. Devon Ave. in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. The company plans to build a six-story, 118,000-square-foot self-storage facility on the property.

The facility will comprise more than 1,200 climate-controlled units ranging from stacked 4-by-4-foot lockers to 10-by-30-foot spaces. The company also plans to include an interior loading area for customers, video monitoring, motion sensors, free WiFi, a customer center and retail office.

The facility will be designed by architecture firm Loebl, Schlossman & Hackl. It is scheduled to break ground in July and expected to open next spring, company officials said in a press release.

The Edgewater property is the second storage property purchased by Banner since the company was created last year. In April, the company purchased the 106,000-square-foot, seven-story Bain Moving & Storage building in Lynn, Mass. Built in 1906 and expanded in 1912, the building was advertised in a 1924 newspaper article as the first “fireproof warehouse for the storage of household goods and general merchandise” in the United States. A portion of the original terra-cotta-walled, individual storage units with steel, fireproof doors will be retained and renovated to maintain the structure’s historical significance, Banner officials said.

The remainder of the Bain building will be fully renovated with the addition of climate-controlled, steel-partitioned storage units, roll-up doors, sprinklers, an interior loading area, and security features. Construction is expected to be completed this fall, with a grand opening scheduled for November.

“Both of these developments represent Banner’s commitment to locate and develop a premium self-storage product in dense, urban in-fill areas of growing major metropolitan markets for today’s sophisticated self-storage customer,” said Gary Delaney, president. “These are the first two of 10 planned developments this year, and we look forward to successfully completing these developments, experiencing strong lease-up given the compelling supply/demand fundamentals of each project, producing strong investment returns and continuing to expand our self-storage platform.”

Formed in July 2013, Banner Storage Group is a subsidiary of Banner Apartments LLC, a real estate investment management business. The self-storage group is led by Delaney and John Nikolich, executive vice president. Both are industry veterans with more than 35 years of combined experience in the development, acquisition, disposition and financing of self-storage properties and real estate operating companies.

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