City Line Capital Pursues as Many as 50 Self-Storage Acquisitions in 2021

City Line Capital LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in self-storage, intends to acquire up to 50 properties this year in deals expected to value more than $300 million. Though the company has closed transactions in primary and tertiary markets, it focuses primarily on mid-sized, secondary opportunities, with most of its 134 properties acquired from small and regional operators. Areas of interest where City Line doesn’t currently have a presence include Indiana, New Jersey and Ohio, CEO Rick Schontz told the source.

“We’re looking at 800 to 1,000 properties to buy a year,” Schontz said. “We’re not an in-and-out fund. It’s a long-term play for us. We’ll occasionally sell, but we’re more long-term [holders] in general.”

City Line has been aggressive in building its portfolio since launching in 2017. It acquired 26 facilities last year, including eight in Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in December. Its new 50-property goal would increase its footprint to more than 10 million square feet and match the number of deals it closed in 2019, according to the source.

Based in Philadelphia, City Line has a portfolio spanning 22 states. Many of its facilities operate under the Storage Sense brand name, though it sometimes retains the names of properties it acquires if they have strong local recognition. The company outsources all facility management, the source reported.

City Line ranked No. 17 on the Inside Self-Storage 2020 Top-Operators List of facility owners, with its portfolio comprising 7.7 million net rentable square feet in 56,000 units.

Source:
SpareFoot Storage Beat, City Line Capital Targets Up to 50 Self-Storage Facilities in 2021