A Woodstock, Ga., CubeSmart facility owned by Boardwalk Development Group LLC (BDG) recently won the “2019 Facility of the Year Award” from the Georgia Self Storage Association (GASSA). The award was presented at a GASSA meeting at The Georgian Club in Atlanta. Criteria evaluated included obstacles overcome during development, occupancy performance over projections, community impact, ingenuity of marketing campaigns, vendor collaborations and more, according to a press release.

Opened in April, the facility at 185 Woodstock Parkway is BDG’s first self-storage development. The proposal was denied twice before receiving approval from city officials. BDG executives called the project “highly controversial” due to the location at the city’s downtown gateway. Three of seven commissioners were against the proposal as well as the planning and zoning board. An affirmative vote from Mayor Donnie Henriques on the third attempt moved the project forward, the release stated.

“After two failed attempts, beads of sweat began forming on my and my business partner’s foreheads as the city of Woodstock was about to deep-six our first 100,000-square-foot, ground-up self-storage development opportunity for the third time,” said BDG CEO Raj Sheth. “Nearly one year of effort and $150,000 in due diligence and hard earnest money was about to be flushed away. Thankfully, at the last minute, the mayor changed his mind and voted in favor of the project, solidifying the votes needed for approval!”

BDG also owns five facilities in Georgia under the Boardwalk Storage brand. The company was formed in 2016 after Sheth sold his storage portfolio to National Storage Affiliates Trust in 2015. The company plans to acquire or develop more than 100 facilities in the Southeast in the next five years, the release stated.

CubeSmart is a self-storage real estate investment trust that owns or manages 1,171 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises 79.4 million square feet.