Update 9/8/16 – The self-storage project planned by NitNeil Partners and Equator Capital has received resistance from Raleigh officials and some residents in the historic neighborhood where the facility is slated to be built. Although the plan meets existing zoning, the 1-acre target site is within the boundaries of the city’s 10-year vision plan, which was adopted last year as a measure designed to rejuvenate the downtown area, according to the source.

“This seems like a missed opportunity and an under-utilization of valuable downtown property that is ripe for redevelopment,” councilmember Mary-Ann Baldwin told the source. “It’s disappointing.”

Some residents have objected to the project’s proximity to Red Hat Amphitheater and requested more restaurants and retail in the vicinity, according to the source. “This doesn’t seem like the kind of development that fosters a dynamic area around the amphitheater,” said Josh Marlow, president of the Boylan Heights Association, which represents the neighborhood. “I think we’d like to see something more vibrant, not just something to occupy the space.”

The developers aren’t ready to publicly discuss the development, according to Timothy Sivers, a partner with Horvath Associates, the civil-engineering firm working on the project.

The tax value on the South Street property is $2.4 million.

8/10/16 – A joint venture between NitNeil Partners, an Atlanta-based real estate development and investment firm, and Equator Capital Management LLC, a N.Y.-based private-equity group, has acquired a property in Raleigh, N.C., on which it plans to build a four-story self-storage facility. The 123,000-square-foot project will include climate-controlled storage, 3,000 square feet of retail space, covered parking and a loading area, according to the source. Construction is slated to begin this fall.

The site at 410 W. South St. is currently home to the Rose & Sons Auto Service building. It’s about a block from the Red Hat Amphitheater, a venue for live concerts, festivals and other events.

The seller, Freddie E. Braswell, was represented in the transaction by York Properties Inc., a Raleigh-based commercial brokerage and property-management firm. NitNeil was represented by Gray Rodgers, a broker with Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Advisors.

The Raleigh project is the joint venture’s second. In May 2015, NitNeil and Equator Capital announced they had purchased a vacant warehouse for self-storage conversion in Durham, N.C. The 0.8-acre property at 108 and 112 W. Seminar St. was expected to house a three-story, 85,000-square-foot storage facility.

NitNeil Partners is a regional investment firm that specializes in the acquisition, development and management of commercial real estate, including self-storage. The company’s self-storage portfolio comprises more than 1 million square feet across five states. In addition, it has several storage projects underway in Atlanta; Charleston, S.C.; Louisville, Ky.; Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; and Tampa, Fla.

Formed in 2008, Equator Capital is a limited-liability company.

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