Real estate developer Highland Development Ventures LLC has acquired a self-storage facility in West Allis, Wis., a Milwaukee suburb, for $5.5 million. The 49,330-square-foot property at 232 S. Curtis Road was very recently converted from a former warehouse, which was purchased in April 2016 by Wisconsin Storage Group (WSC) for $1.6 million, according to the source.

WSC purchased the warehouse with the intent of making significant renovations to the site, including a new façade, landscaping and drive-in doors with windows, according to Kurt Van Dyke and James Young of real estate firm The Barry Co., which brokered both deals.

“The sales are based on income,” Van Dyke told the source. “It is not dissimilar to when people take a warehouse and turn it into an apartment. They (WSC) completely redeveloped the building, leased it and were able to sell it based on the income they have.”

Highland Development acquired two other properties in Milwaukee in 2015 that were converted to self-storage. The sites were a former warehouse and a movie theater.

Based in Valhalla, N.Y., Highland Development is a real estate development and investment firm with interests throughout Canada and the United States. Its primary focus is the adaptive reuse of older buildings and small urban sites, specializing in self-storage and student-housing projects, according to the company website.

Wisconsin Storage also operates a facility in Saukville, Wis.

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