Businesses in the Buffalo Niagara region in New York are still worried about the state of today’s economy, according to a recent article in The Buffalo News.

After a year of declining business, many business operators are cautious about business recovery for next year. “With visibility hazy at best, I’d hesitate to claim that things have bottomed out,” says Kenneth Myszka, president of Sovran Self Storage, the Williamsville, N.Y., company that runs 283 Uncle Bob’s self-storage facilities in the eastern United States.

Like many self-storage companies, Sovran has turned to concessions to keep facilities full. Uncle Bob’s customers are offered their first month rent-free, and can even name their own price in the second month. Despite the concessions, occupancy rates are dropping. “The leasing environment is as competitive as we’ve seen and we are, of course, buying occupancy,” says David Rogers, Sovran’s chief financial officer.

Source:  The Buffalo News,   Local Firms Are Ready for an Improved Economy Related Articles: Sovran Self Storage Updates Financial Guidance for 2009 Sovran Self Storage Announces Quarterly Stock Dividend Buffalo Portfolio Plummets, Including Sovran Self Storage Self-Storage Talk: Are Things Picking Up for You?