October 17, 2019

10 Min Read
Self-Storage Real Estate Acquisitions and Sales: October 2019

Update 10/17/19 – Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Here’s an overview of additional activity happening in October 2019.

International Self Storage in Highland, Calif., was sold to a local investment company. The facility at 7932 Leslie Lane comprises 17,905 square feet in 172 units. The buyer was represented in the transaction by Keith Phillips, an associate of The LeClaire Group of M&M. The seller was self-represented in the deal.

KeepIt Mini Storage in Mineola, Texas, sold to a Dallas-based buyer fulfilling a 1031 exchange. The facility at 1113 County Road 2220 comprises 88,800 square feet in 509 units and four outdoor parking spaces. The property includes a 1,800-square-foot business center, which is available for rent on a daily basis. Built in 1994, the facility was expanded in 2017. The deal was brokered by Danny Cunningham, senior associate, and Brandon Karr, senior vice president, of Karr Self Storage Group, an affiliate of M&M.

VLC Enterprises LLC sold a self-storage facility in Peoria, Ariz., to Guardian Storage Centers LLC in a Certificate-of-Occupancy deal for $12.85 million. The property at 8620 W. Northern Ave. comprises 95,992 square feet in 1,046 units and 108 RV-parking spaces. The newly constructed facility was built on nearly 7.5 acres and has an additional 4.7 acres available for expansion. Guardian will brand the facility under its StorAmerica name. The company is a participating regional operator of National Storage Affiliates Trust, a REIT and third-party management firm, which operates more than 700 self-storage facilities in 35 states and Puerto Rico. The buyer and seller were represented in the deal by Norman Herd of Quantum Property Advisors, a Phoenix-based brokerage firm specializing in self-storage real estate.

South Bank Secure Storage in Rifle, Colo., sold to an unidentified buyer. The facility at 1453 Airport Road comprises 60,020 square feet in 376 units and 218 outdoor parking spaces. The property expanded onto 2.16 acres across the street in 2018 to accommodate additional RV storage. The seller was represented in the transaction by Charles "Chico" LeClaire, executive managing director of investments, and Adam Schlosser, senior vice president of investments, for the LeClaire Group of M&M.

The two-property Storage House portfolio in Chambersburg, Pa., was sold to a private investment group. Together, the facilities comprise 53,000 net rentable square feet in more than 190 units. The four-building facility on Progress Road sits on 2 acres while the six-building facility on South 4th Street sits on 1.5 acres. The sites are less than a mile apart and operated remotely from an office a few miles away. The buyer and the seller were represented in the transaction by IRE.

Sycamore Self Storage in Sycamore, Ill., was sold to established self-storage owners. The facility at 1420 Dekalb Ave. comprises 22,000 rentable square feet. The seller was represented in the transaction by Bruce Bahrmaselm, an Argus affiliate.

A newly constructed self-storage facility in Toronto sold to a joint venture between Strategic Storage Growth Trust II Inc (SSGT II) and its Canadian development partner, SmartCentres REIT. The six-story facility at 1120 Dupont St. was built on .34 acres. Completed earlier this year, it comprises about 47,000 net rentable square feet in approximately 735 units. SSGT II is a private REIT sponsored by an indirect subsidiary of SmartStop Self Storage REIT Inc. SmartStop owns or manages 135 self-storage facilities in Toronto and the United States. Its portfolio comprises about 10 million net rentable square feet. SmartCentres is a Canada-based REIT that owns and manages 34 million square feet of retail space. It also has interests residential, retirement, office and self-storage properties.

10/4/19 – Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Here’s an overview of activity happening in October 2019.

ABR Self Storage in Rijswijk, The Netherlands, sold to Shurgard Self Storage Europe SARL, the European affiliate of U.S.-based real estate investment trust (REIT) Public Storage Inc. The facility comprises 1,750 square meters in 355 units and has room for expansion. It’s been rebranded under the Shurgard name. Shurgard operates 231 self-storage facilities comprising 1.2 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

PS NC III LP, an affiliate of REIT Public Storage, purchased Assured Storage in Winston-Salem, N.C., for $6.65 million. The facility at 4191 Bethania Station Road sits on 3.84 acres and contains two buildings. The seller is Assured Storage of Winston-Salem LLC of Honeoye Falls, N.Y.

The five-property A-Z Storage portfolio in Easthampton, Northampton and Southampton, Mass., was sold for $12.2 million to an investment group. The portfolio contains 33 buildings and comprises nearly 124,000 square feet in more than 930 units. The sites are within a three-mile radius and were operated from a satellite office at 165 Northampton St. in Easthampton. The seller was represented in the transaction by Justin Quinto, a brokerage advisor for Investment Real Estate LLC, a provider of brokerage, construction, development and management services to self-storage owners and investors since 1998.

Dominion Verrado Self-Storage in Buckeye, Ariz., sold to 20825 W. McDowell SP LLC, an affiliate of The William Warren Group (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage brand. Built in 2018, the facility at 20825 W. McDowell Road comprises 81,318 square feet in 524 climate-controlled units. The buyer and seller were represented by Paul Boyle, Rick Danis and Greg Wells of Cushman & Wakefield, a provider of real estate services including consulting and appraisal, debt and equity financing, and sales and acquisitions. Founded in 1994 and based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG acquires, develops and operates more than 165 self-storage facilities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina and Texas.

A subsidiary of Extra Space Storage Inc., a self-storage REIT and third-party management firm, sold a facility in Ballston Spa, N.Y., to a Philadelphia-based private-equity firm for $7 million. The property comprises 77,965 net rentable square feet in 691 units, and encompasses 14 single-story buildings. The deal was brokered by Hans Hardisty and Nick Malagisi of the SVN National Self Storage Product Council. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 1,752 self-storage properties nationwide and in Puerto Rico.

The two-property Fort Knox Mini Storage portfolio in Imlay City and Lapeer, Mich., sold to an unidentified LLC. Together, the facilities comprise 48,645 square feet in 337 units and 46 parking spaces. Both properties received renovations, including “major maintenance,” asphalt repaving and new roofs within the last five years. The buyer and seller were represented in the transaction by Thomas Berlin and Zachary Munce, investment specialists with Marcus & Millichap (M&M), a commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout Canada and the United States.

PAG Investments, a real estate investment and management firm, purchased Heritage Self Storage in Endicott, N.Y. The facility at 301 Glendale Drive comprises 109,813 square feet in 570 units. Situated on 13.89 acres, it also contains 200 vehicle-storage spaces. The seller was represented in the transaction by Robert Streicher, a sales consultant for real estate firm Striker Investment Realty LLC. Headquartered in New York City, PAG is focused on the acquisition, development, redevelopment and management of industrial, office, retail and self-storage in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

Investment firm VanWest Partners acquired Marsh Harbor Self-Storage in Mary Esther, Fla., through its new storage fund, VanWest Storage Fund I LLC. Established in the second quarter of 2019, the fund owns and operates a facility less than a mile from the acquisition, according to Jacob Vanderslice, managing partner. Built in 2007, the facility at 2193 W. Highway 98 contains 12 buildings comprising 28,800 square feet in 128 units. It’ll be rebranded under VanWest’s ClearHome Self Storage management platform. VanWest and its affiliates have invested in 15 self-storage projects totaling more than 800,000 rentable square feet. They include multi-story ground-up development, adaptive reuse and value-add to existing facilities.

Westport Properties Inc. (WPI)/US Storage Centers acquired an unidentified storage facility in Middleton, Mass. The property at 193 S. Main St. comprises 85,260 square feet in 780 units. It’s the company’s second purchase in the Boston market this year. Charles Byerly, president and CEO, indicated WPI will continue to look for opportunities to expand the company’s footprint in Boston and statewide. It operates more than 120 self-storage facilities nationwide.

Oversized Storage in Willis, Texas, sold to an undisclosed buyer. The facility at 11741 FM 830 comprises 61,520 square feet on about 5.75 acres. The property has room for expansion and could be considered for redevelopment, according to a press release. The seller, a private investor, was represented in the deal by Dave Knobler, an investment specialist for M&M.

WPI bought a Planet Self Storage facility in Waltham, Mass., for $5.95 million. The property at 115 Bacon St. comprises 34,176 net rentable square feet in 446 units. The facility was converted from a former watch-manufacturing plant in 1983. The deal was brokered by Connie Neville of SVN.

Saf-T-Loc Self Storage in Dallas was sold to Bargain Storage. The facility at 11359 Reeder Road sits on 3.8 acres and comprises 95,256 square feet. The seller was represented in the transaction by Richard D. Minker and Chad Snyder, brokers with Dominus Commercial, an affiliate of the Argus Self Storage Network, a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties.

Scotty’s Storage in Killeen, Texas, was sold to Iron Guard Storage. The facility at 5400 E. Central Texas Expressway sits on 5.37 acres. The buyer was represented in the transaction by Minker and Snyder.

StorGard Self Storage in Buford, Ga., was acquired in July by Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc., which operates more than 1,500 self-storage facilities across North America. The facility at 3556 Buford Drive comprises 703 indoor units. Established in 1945, U-Haul owns more than 38 million square feet of storage space nationwide.

Life Storage Inc., a self-storage REIT and third-party management company, purchased the three-property Stor-More Self Storage portfolio in Greater Seattle. The properties at 1802 A St. E. in Auburn, Wash., and 1612 S.W. 114th St. and 2850 S.W. Yancy St. W. in Seattle total 204,906 rentable square feet. The buyer and the seller were represented in the transaction by Hugh R. Horne, a principal with Charmel Storage Capital, a Los Angeles-based boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm focused exclusively on the self-storage industry.

Jernigan Capital Inc. (JCAP), a merchant bank and advisory firm serving the self-storage industry, purchased five properties in South Florida from MCSS Development and Investment. Together, the facilities in Brickell, Coconut Grove, Doral, Pembroke Pines and Sweetwater, Fla., comprise 367,088 rentable square feet in 4,141 units. MCSS now operates six locations totaling more than 700,000 square feet. It also has several developments underway. JCAP is a real estate investment trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It provides financing to private developers, operators and owners of self-storage facilities.

Watson Storage Center in Denham Springs, La., sold to an unidentified LLC. Constructed on more than 20 acres, the facility at 8245 Commerce Drive comprises 26,050 square feet in 194 units and 12 parking spaces. Built in 2001, the site underwent an expansion in 2006. The buyer and seller were represented in the deal by Gabriel Coe, Brett R. Hatcher and Brian Kelly, investment specialists for M&M.

New Sources:
Commercial Property Executive, Texas Storage Facility Changes Hands
Investment Real Estate LLC, IRE Announces Sale of The Storage House Portfolio in Pennsylvania
REBusiness Online, Marcus & Millichap Brokers Sale of 172-Unit Self-Storage Facility in California’s Inland Empire
Yahoo Finance, Strategic Storage Growth Trust II Inc. Acquires Newly Constructed 735-Unit Self Storage Facility in Toronto, Canada

Previous Sources:
BusinessWire, VanWest Partners Acquires New Storage-Fund Asset
Connect Boston, US Storage Centers Acquires 780-Unit Self-Storage Facility in Middleton
CoStar, Local Investor Sells Dominion Verrado Self-Storage for $9.1 Million
Daily Journal of Commerce, Self-Storage Sites Sell for $40M
NEREJ, Neville of SVN National Self Storage Handles $5.95 million Sale of a Planet Self Storage Facility
Winston-Salem Journal, The Briefcase: Winston-Salem Storage Property Sells for $6.65 Million
Yahoo Finance, PAG Investments Acquires Self-Storage Facility in Endicott, NY

Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter
ISS is the most comprehensive source for self-storage news, feature stories, videos and more.

You May Also Like