The William Warren Group Inc. (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage brand, has acquired a facility in Aurora, Colo., and opened another in Denver. Alameda & Buckley Self Storage was purchased for $4.3 million and is the companys 14th asset in the state. It will be rebranded under the StorQuest name.

The Aurora property was built in 2005 and comprises 63,365 rentable square feet in 500 storage units. The facility consists of 12 single-story, drive-up buildings. It is just three miles from another StorQuest property that is 95 percent occupied, company officials said.

We are expanding our operating footprint in the Colorado area as we grow to meet increasing demand for self-storage space, said Bill Hobin, president and CEO. This facility and its location represent a valuable brand-identity opportunity for StorQuest Self Storage.

The companys growing presence in the Denver metro market will help its portfolio leverage additional economies of scale, producing more public awareness of the brand and significant operational cost savings in staffing, back-office operations, advertising and overall Internet presence, officials said in a press release.

The newly opened Denver facility is five minutes from downtown and marks the 80th in WWGs portfolio. The conversion project transformed a 74,000-square-foot industrial building into a self-storage property with 54,000 square feet of climate-controlled space and another 20,000 square feet of traditional, drive-up units.

"Denver has been one of our strongest markets throughout the recession, said Tim Hobin, senior vice president. We knew the property was a good candidate for conversion due to its excellent location on an extremely busy east/west Denver arterial street with a dense three-mile population, strong market fundamentals and a good warehouse building with lots of parking."

Based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG develops, acquires and operates self-storage assets in major U.S. metropolitan markets. The companys long-term perspective for growing the StorQuest brand focuses on assets that offer growing cash flow and capital-appreciation opportunities.