Hawthorne Residential Partners (HRP), a co-owner of the Go Store It self-storage brand, has acquired two properties in Wilmington, N.C., for $12 million from StoreSmart Self Storage, which operates more than 20 facilities in six states. The properties at 5811 and 9121 Market St. will be rebranded under the Go Store It name, according to Phil Payonk, HRP’s chief investments officer.

The company plans to add amenities to the properties, including coffee bars and free use of a moving truck for tenants. “We want to see what our tenants demand and then react to it with improvements,” Payonk told the source.

The Wilmington market is experiencing population growth. “They're finally starting to see a little bit of job growth, and we really like the U.S. 17-Market Street corridor,” Payonk said.

Another real estate developer has proposed to build a new self-storage facility along a separate section of Market Street, between the two intersections of Alexander Road, the source reported. The project would require zoning approval from New Hanover County city officials, according to a letter sent to adjacent property owners from Cindee Wolf, owner of Design Solutions, a Wilmington-based land-planning and development-entitlement consulting firm. The proposal calls for four climate-controlled storage buildings and a two-story office. The developer is hosting an open-house meeting to discuss the project today at Ogden Park.

Based in Greensboro, N.C., HRP manages apartment properties in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast for third-party clients, institutional investors, lenders and private-investment groups.

StoreSmart operates storage facilities in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina. Its locations are managed by its affiliated property-management company, Reliant Real Estate Management LLC.

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