Update 5/31/17 – 10 Federal has started to raise the $10 million fund it will use to acquire traditional self-storage facilities and convert them to fully automated properties. The company has converted three of its own assets and recently used the fund to purchase South Point Storage Inc. at 1308 S. Point Road in Belmont, N.C., according to a press release.

10 Federal will implement its automated system at the Belmont property including controlled access, electronic locks, a kiosk and a roving camera. "South Point represented an ideal acquisition for the fund,” said Kris Bennett, director of acquisitions. “It was a mom-and-pop operated facility, with no website, no online advertising, a large property-manager salary and rents that trailed the market."

10 Federal has spent three years developing its automated system. The fund will target similar storage properties throughout the Southeast, with a concentration in North Carolina, the release stated.

"We are excited to have the fund underway,” said co-founder Cliff Minsley. “Our teams have worked hard to fine tune our systems and technologies, and to see it succeed in the field has been rewarding. We look forward to now scaling the platform."

The company yesterday hosted a webinar about the fund for accredited investors.

12/6/16 – Encouraged by the successful implementation of automated technology in its self-storage portfolio, diversified real estate firm 10 Federal plans to launch an acquisition fund in 2017 with the intent to buy and convert traditional self-storage facilities in the Southeast to full automation. The company operates four North Carolina facilities through its 10 Federal Storage LLC division and recently automated a traditionally staffed property in Durham. The switch was spurred by the success of its unmanned, 155-unit facility in Graham, which recently completed lease-up in five months by averaging one rental per day, according to a press release.

The Durham facility initially operated with staff for a year, producing 35 rentals during its best month. Following its move to automation, the property rented 48 units during the first month, the release stated. The unmanned properties use a combination of various technologies including access control from PTI Security Systems, automated kiosks from Advanced Kiosks, electronic locks from Janus International Group LLC, management software from StorEDGE and other proprietary systems.

10 Federal has used automation in its other real estate interests, including multi-family properties, and built the 15,600-square-foot Graham facility to be automated from the beginning. “We feel it is where the industry is going,” co-founder Brad Minsley told a source earlier this year. “When the North Carolina DMV manages to start using kiosks and making their process unmanned, you pretty much know self-storage should be there, too.”

Based in Raleigh, N.C., 10 Federal acquires, develops and manages multi-family and self-storage properties in North Carolina. It has two storage facilities in Durham and one each in Graham and Hillsborough. Integrating technology into its operation is a core tenet of the business, according to the company website.

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