National Storage Affiliates, a Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in self-storage, has purchased the two-property Neighborhood Mini Storage portfolio in Louisiana for $8.1 million. The facilities, located at 14401 Highway 44 in Gonzalez and 36501 Oak Plaza Ave. in Prairieville, comprise a total of 121,705 net rentable square feet.

The Gonzales facility includes two single-story buildings containing 447 units. It features 24-hour video surveillance, electronic gate access, a professional leasing office and wide concrete drives.

The Prairieville location includes six single-story buildings and one multi-story building with an elevator. It contains 386 units. Features include 24-hour video surveillance, electronic gate access, perimeter fencing and exterior lighting. This facility also serves as an authorized U-Haul dealer as well as a FedEx and UPS shipping center.

The seller, a private investor, was represented in the transaction by Charles “Chico” LeClaire, senior vice president of investments, and Adam Schlosser, vice president of investments, in the Denver office of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.

“These two assets, located in the suburbs of Baton Rouge, are [two] of the nicest facilities in the local market,” LeClaire said. “The property in Gonzales was built just before Hurricane Katrina and expanded shortly thereafter; and the Prairieville facility is of even newer construction. Both properties are in excellent locations, with strong demographics and great visibility. This was an excellent opportunity for National Storage Affiliates to expand their presence in Louisiana, and the seller was able to obtain a great price from an aggressive bidding environment.”

Founded in 1971, Marcus & Millichap is a commercial-property investment firm with more than 1,500 investment professionals in offices throughout Canada and the United States. The firm closed more than 8,700 transactions in 2015 with a value of approximately $37.8 billion.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colo., NSAT is a self-administered and -managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas throughout the United States. The company’s portfolio comprises approximately 26.2 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.