Self-Storage Development and Zoning Activity: August 2023

Update 8/24/23 – The global self-storage development pipeline continues to be extremely dynamic. Inside Self-Storage regularly covers new projects being planned and approved as well as zoning and other municipal issues. Following is additional activity taking place in August 2023.

The Wayne, New Jersey, Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected a self-storage project proposed by Basis Industrial for 555 Hamburg Turnpike. Board members deemed the five-story facility too large for the 3.5-acre site, which currently houses a single-family residence. The development required a use variance because self-storage isn’t allowed in office-building zones. Basis had revised its design to address building-size concerns after a July 17 public hearing. Formerly known as MCSS Self-Storage, Basis rebranded last year. It owns more than 2 million square feet of self-storage and industrial real estate, primarily in Florida and across the Sun Belt.

Bosworth Group LLC intends to develop a self-storage facility in Waterville, Maine. The project at 195 College Ave. would comprise 23,200 square feet across seven buildings. The site was approved for self-storage a few years ago, but the project was never built.

Todd Cellura, president of Sovereign Builders Inc., received permit approval from the Westfield, Massachusetts, Conservation Committee to develop a self-storage facility at 109 Medeiros Way. The complex will include seven storage buildings as well as a contractor shop for Cellura to use on site. Though the property is 21 acres, the facility will be placed on the northernmost 6 acres due to wetlands. Based in Westfield, Sovereign specializes in commercial and residential developments.

Farrell Companies intends to develop a 156,162-square-foot self-storage facility across two parcels at 251 Butter Lane in Bridgehampton, New York. The complex would comprise four buildings and about 100 outdoor vehicle-storage spaces. The Southampton Town Planning Board has been critical of the property, in particular for mounds of dirt that have been present for several years. Board chair Jacqui Lofaro described the land as “massively disturbed” and in a “sensitive archaeological area.” Due to the number of vehicle spaces, the project falls under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act for environmental review. The Suffolk County Health Department must also grant approval for the requested subdivision but doesn’t typically do so until after an environmental review is complete. Farrell is a real estate development firm that specializes in commercial, industrial and residential projects.

The Seminole, Florida, City Council is negotiating a development agreement with John-Mary Enterprises Ltd. to build a self-storage facility on a 6.2-acre parcel near Park and Seminole Boulevards. The facility at 10890 Park Blvd. would comprise 90,000 square feet and include a single-story structure in the northwest corner of the site, with a four-story building behind it. Tampa, Florida-based John-Mary owns a nearby property that houses a Chik-fil-A fast-food restaurant.

My Extra Garage (MEG) received site-plan approval to develop self-storage condos in Derby, Kansas. The project at 2919 N. Commerce Drive will offer 96 units across five buildings. Spaces will feature pre-plumbed bathrooms, heating and air conditioning, electrical outlets, finished floors, and the ability to install a mezzanine. Due to the site’s proximity to McConnell Air Force Base, overnight stays in units will be prohibited. MEG owner Jay Ablah indicated the company intends to develop 100 facilities nationwide in the next 15 years.

North Andover Self Storage opened in North Andover, Massachusetts. The three-story facility at 25 Beechwood Drive comprises 90,000 square feet in 590 units. It’ll be managed by Argus Professional Storage Management, an affiliate company of Argus Self Storage Advisors, a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties. Argus affiliate brokers Joseph Mendola and Joseph Robinson of NAI Norwood Group brokered the sale of the land and arranged for the private-equity and development team that built the facility.

RC Enterprises LP received unanimous approval from the Kokomo, Indiana, City Council to rezone to two parcels from low-intensity industrial/business park to moderate-intensity industrial/light manufacturing. The change will allow the company to develop a self-storage facility on vacant land at the southeast corner of 200 North and Touby Pike. Kokomo recently lifted a six-month moratorium on self-storage development and updated allowances to permit the business use in light industrial, moderate-intensity industrial and heavy-intensity zoning districts.

SAFStor Real Estate Co. LLC, which owns five self-storage facilities across four states, intends to build a new location on a 2-acre lot in Danbury, Connecticut. The facility targeted for 94 Sand Pit Road would comprise 90,000 square feet. If the project is approved, existing buildings that currently house an automotive shop and landscaping business would be razed. As part of its plan, SAFStor indicated it would install a modern stormwater-detention and -renovation system since the property doesn’t have any stormwater management. The company received a wetlands permit in June. The planning commission scheduled a public hearing for the project on Sept. 20.

Shurgard Self Storage Ltd., the European affiliate of Public Storage Inc., intends to convert a building in the Amsterdam metro area to self-storage. Expected to open next year, it’ll offer about 4,100 square meters of storage space in 550 units.

Shurgard is also pursuing a construction project in a residential area of Southeast London. Expected to open in 2025, the facility will comprise approximately 6,400 square meters in 1,000 units. Shurgard operates 268 self-storage properties comprising 1.4 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Squab Storage opened a new, 32,000-square-foot location in the Atex Business Park in Stowmarket, England. It’s the company’s first site outside of the Midlands region. Squab operates four other self-storage locations in the country. In addition to storage units, it offers flexible workspaces and various business amenities.

Storage King, which operates 197 self-storage facilities in Australia and New Zealand, intends to convert the former Darrell Lea Chocolates factory in the Kogarah suburb of Sydney, Australia. Plans for 204 Rocky Point Road call for six stories, with a gross floor area of 7,529 square meters, which is 30.5% more than the allowable 5,594.4 square meters under the city’s ratio development standard.

Storage Sense opened a new location in Racine, Wisconsin. The facility at 1509 Rapids Drive is near the Racine Zoo and multi-family housing. It’ll be managed by Storage Asset Management, a self-storage management company based in York, Pennsylvania. Storage Sense operates more than 260 self-storage facilities nationwide.

Store4U intends to develop a self-storage facility in the Hebron Business Park in Leggetsrath West, Ireland. The site would comprise 84 storage containers. Store4U has also requested permission to replace the existing entrance gate to the property with electronic access control. A subsidiary of Moonshell Ltd., Store4U operates five self-storage locations in the country.

The Gilbert, Arizona, Planning Commission discussed a 122,000-square-foot self-storage project proposed for a vacant 2.4-acre lot near the northwest corner of Higley and Williams Fields Roads. Though commissioners were generally supportive of the development and building design, some expressed concerns about the orientation of the structure, with the main loading doors facing residences to the east rather than west toward Higley, which would serve as a frontage road. Questions were also raised about hours of operation and potential security issues. Planner Samantha Novotny indicated she would relay the commission’s concerns with the applicant, who was not named by the source.

Fergus County, Montana, commissioners approved a self-storage proposal from an unidentified developer along Highway 87. The project will be built in phases and eventually include 21 buildings, each with 20 units, and outdoor storage. One of the conditions for approval was that the self-storage business must verify that tenants aren’t living in the units.

8/10/23 – The global self-storage development pipeline continues to be extremely dynamic. Inside Self-Storage regularly covers new projects being planned and approved as well as zoning and other municipal issues. Following is additional activity taking place in August 2023.

Arco’s Self Storage intends to expand its facility at 1654 N. Main St. in Manteca, California. The project is one of four separate proposals recently received by the city. Others include an 844-unit facility on Atherton Drive, along with developments targeted for Airport Way and Cottage Court. If all are approved and built, it will bring the city’s self-storage facility count to 13. Arco’s operates seven locations in Northern California.

Asset Realty & Construction Group is seeking permission to tear down its building that once housed Lockley Manufacturing in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and replace it with self-storage. Plans for the property at 306-310 Grove St. include a four-story structure comprising 119,050 square feet. The planning commission voted 3-1 to recommend that the city council approve a conditional-use request for the project, which will require variances and consent from the zoning-hearing board. A public hearing will also be held.

BG Douglas Ventures received approval to build a four-story mixed-use facility in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Plans for 24 U Stor at 2300-2312 Douglas St. include a 56,500-square-foot self-storage building with retail and light industrial on the ground floor. BFA Studio Architects is designing the $17 million project.

Blue Sky Princeton and Uplift Development are developing a self-storage facility in Overland Park, Kansas. Plans for the 4-acre site at 2020 Princeton include three stories above ground and a basement, comprising a total of 98,000 square feet of climate-controlled units. The land seller, Downtown Equities II LC, was represented in the deal by Larry Goldman, an affiliate of Argus Self Storage Advisors, a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties. Uplift specializes in flex-warehouse, industrial and self-storage development.

Devon Self Storage is developing a new location on the site of the former Liscio’s Bakery facility in Glassboro, New Jersey. One structure on the property at 124-128 Delsea Drive has been demolished to make room for a new two-story building. Devon will also convert an existing warehouse to self-storage and connect the two structures. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates 87 facilities across 23 states.

Flexiss Group Ltd., which operates the SureStore brand in the United Kingdom, received approval to convert the former Cineworld movie theater in Gloucester, England, to self-storage. The 29,500-square-foot building in The Peel Centre at Bristol Road and St. Ann Way closed in 2013. The site is owned by Peel Land and Property Investments Plc. Flexiss operates 17 SureStore locations, with 18 projects in various stages of planning and development.

Brothers Damon and Jason Palmer are converting their Palmer's Shopper Value Foods store in Tupelo, Mississippi, to self-storage. Plans for the building at 1005 E. Main St. include 93 climate-controlled units. It’s expected to open this fall.

Self Stor Storage will open a new self-storage facility this month in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The property at 6005 Erin Mills Parkway comprises 180,000 square feet in about 1,200 units. Founded in 1996, Self Stor operates four other locations in the Greater Toronto area.

Shurgard Self Storage Ltd., the European affiliate of Public Storage Inc., purchased land in Frankfurt, Germany, on which it plans to build a new facility. Expected to open in 2025, it’ll offer about 5,900 square meters of in 850 units. Shurgard operates 268 self-storage properties comprising 1.4 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

StorageMart, which operates more than 200 facilities in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, opened a new location in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The building at 341 Mapleview Drive W. comprises 89,000 net square feet in 747 units.

Store Space Self Storage, which operates more than 100 self-storage properties in 22 states, opened its conversion project in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The former industrial space at 40 Edison St. comprises 114,652 square feet in 800 climate-controlled units.

8/3/23 – The global self-storage development pipeline continues to be extremely dynamic. Inside Self-Storage regularly covers new projects being planned and approved as well as zoning and other municipal issues. Following is activity taking place in August 2023.

Austringer Capital Group LLC, a real estate development firm that focuses on commercial, multi-family and mixed-use properties, is seeking permission to convert the former Odeon Cinema in Blackpool, England, to self-storage. Plans for the 40,000-square-foot vacant building on Rigby Road are to turn 30,000 square feet into storage space and lease the rest to three restaurants. The facility will be managed and branded by Storage King, which operates 37 locations in the United Kingdom.

Development firm Berman-Lapetina Enterprises LLC purchased a 3.43-acre vacant lot in Bartlett, Illinois, on which it plans to build a multi-story self-storage. The parcel is on the southeast corner of Illinois Route 25 and West Bartlett Road. Rick Scardino, principal for commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates, represented the landowner, Abbott Land, in the transaction. Dan Lynch, senior vice president for Colliers International, represented the buyer.

Cardiff Mason Development Inc., a Chicago-based real estate investment, development and management firm, is building a self-storage facility in Westchester, California. Designed by Morphosis, a Culver City, California-based architecture firm founded by Thom Mayne, the 50,000-square-foot structure at 7366 Osage Ave. will include three above-grade levels and three below. The business is expected to open in 2025.

Cinch Self Storage, which operates 13 facilities in England, opened a new location in Earlsfield, London. The property at 666-678 Garratt Lane comprises 25,000 square feet of rentable space in 300 units. It also has 136 solar panels that’ll generate 55.76 kWp of electricity.

ClimaStor is seeking a rezoning to build a self-storage facility on a 2-acre lot on Nicholson Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The application filed by James Jenkins III, construction project manager, requests changing the parcel from a mixture of light and heavy commercial and light industrial to heavy commercial only. The property is owned by Nicholson-Wampold LLC. ClimaStor operates five facilities in Baton Rouge, Walker and West Monroe, Louisiana.

Latch-It Self Storage is renovating its two facilities in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Plans for the properties at 618 Campbell Loop and 161 W. Hills Drive include improving the building exteriors and adding modern security components. Latch-It parent company SHC Properties acquired the locations last year. They were previously branded as Hattiesburg Self Storage. The makeovers are expected to be complete this fall.

Quartz Creek Holdings LLC is seeking permission to convert the former three-story Northwest Elementary School in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to self-storage. Plans for the 36,792-square-foot building at 900 Maple St. were submitted during the July 10 planning-commission meeting. Approval could take up to six months due to the variance requests, according to Robin Getz, the city director of public works.

Ridge Rentals LLC has encountered complications in its quest to build a self-storage facility in Biglerville, Pennsylvania. Plans for the property at 170 E. Hanover St. include a single-story building comprising 11,925 square feet and a two-story, 19,800-square-foot structure. Because the site is near wetlands, the project must be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection, which is experiencing delays in its permitting, according to civil engineer Bob Sharrah. Once the company receives approval, construction will begin.

Roseville Storage Center submitted plans to convert the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church and school in Roseville, Michigan, to self-storage. The company is under contract to purchase the property at 18430 Utica Road from the Archdiocese of Detroit and has filed a rezoning request with the city. Renovations will include indoor self-storage units, enclosed outdoor storage, administrative offices and retail uses along with new construction.

Safeguard Self Storage, which operates more than 88 locations in six states, opened a new facility in Spring Hill, Florida. The building at 9101 County Line Road comprises 44,000 net rentable square feet of climate-controlled storage and 62 vehicle-storage spaces.

Shurgard Self Storage Ltd., the European affiliate of Public Storage, purchased land in Berlin, Germany, on which it plans to build self-storage. Expected to open in 2025, the facility will offer 109,791 square feet in 1,500 units.

Shurgard is also developing a three-building facility in Nieuwegein, Netherlands. The project includes conversion of an existing structure and the development of two new ones. Combined, they’ll offer 48,437 square feet in 1,900 units. The site is expected to open in July 2024. Shurgard operates 267 self-storage properties comprising 1.4 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Southwestern Property Corp., a Denver-based real estate development firm, is building a self-storage facility in Palm Bay, Florida. The multi-story, 712-unit structure at 1565 Foundation Park Blvd. will be managed by Extra Space Storage and branded as Life Storage. The $12.6 million construction loan was arranged by Northmarq, a capital-markets resource for commercial real estate investors.

Stor It USA Self Storage, which operates two facilities in Levelland, Texas, opened a third location in the city. The property at 111 10th St. offers drive-up units.

Vision Aura LLC received zoning approval to build a self-storage facility in Glassboro, New Jersey. Plans for the property at 555 Aura Road include a three-story building comprising 75,000 square feet in 522 units. The 12.84-acre parcel is heavily wooded and contains a branch of Raccoon Creek, making construction possible on only about 2 acres.

An unnamed developer is building a self-storage facility in Summerfield, Florida. Once complete, it’ll offer 77,625 square feet.

New Sources:
Central Maine, Waterville Planning Board to Consider Plans for Self-Storage Units, Solar Farm
Derby Informer, New Business More Than Just a Storage Facility
Gilbert Sun News, Commission Discusses Storage Facility Plan
Kilkenny Live, Plans for Large Self-Storage Facility in Kilkenny
Kokomo Tribune, Kokomo City Council Approves Rezoning for Storage Units, Apartments and Used Car Lot
Lewistown News, New Self-Storage Project Approved in Fergus County
Mass Live, Commission Approves Self-Storage Facility on Medeiros Way
News Times, Investor Says Razing Danbury Shops to Build New Self-Storage Site Will Be a ‘Dramatic Improvement’
Northjersey.com, Wayne Zoning Board Rejects 'Massive' Storage Center for Hamburg Turnpike
Stowmarket Mercury, New £3.5 Million Self-Storage Complex Opens in Stowmarket
TBNweekly.com, Chick-fil-A Property Owners Propose Self-Storage Facility on Park Blvd. in Seminole
The East Hampton Star, Farrell Pitches Huge Self-Storage Complex in Bridgehampton
The Leader, Plan for Six-Storey Storage Premises on Former Darrell Lea Site at Kogarah

Previous Sources:
42 Freeway, Devon Self Storage Facility Coming to Delsea Dr Glassboro at Former Liscio’s Property
Business Wire, Store Space Transforms an Underused Industrial Space into Self-Storage Facility in New Bedford, MA
Daily Journal, Former Palmer's Grocery Store Being Converted to Storage Facility
Manteca/Ripon Bulletin, Manteca May Soon Have 13 Storage Complexes & You Think the Homeless Accumulate a Lot of Junk?
New Castle News, Storage Facility Proposed for Former Lockley Plant Building
PR Newswire, StorageMart Expands in Ontario with New Facility in Barrie
Punchline, Old Cinema Redevelopment Will Be "Stepping Stone" for Gloucester Businesses
Real Estate News Exchange, Grand Opening for Self Stor Storage Mississauga. Bigger and Bolder.
Times Colonist, Victoria Approves Self-Storage Building on Douglas Street
WDAM, Latch-It Self-Storage Nears Completion of Renovations
Northwest Place, Austringer Pivots to Self-Storage at Blackpool Cinema Site
Gettysburg Times, More Self-Storage Coming to Biglerville
Daily Herald, 3.43-Acre Lot Sold, to Be Used as Multi-Story Self-Storage Facility
Lebtown, City Reviewing Plans for Storage Facility & Retail Space at Former Northwest School
Yahoo News, Glassboro Approves Self-Storage Opening in Suburban Housing Area Near Route 55
Macomb Daily, Sacred Heart Church to Be Sold to Storage Developer Who Plans to Preserve Building
Business Report, Self-Storage Facility Planned in Front of Tin Roof Brewery
Digital Journal, Stor It USA Self Storage Reveals the Opening of its New Location
Westside Today, A Striking Self Storage Facility Is in The Works for Westchester
London Post, Cinch Self Storage Opens New Site in Earlsfield