Update 10/14/22 – The Padlock Partners UK Fund III conversion project in Watford, England, has been revealed to be in partnership with Cinch Self Storage. The former Mothercare warehouse was part of the retailer’s previous headquarters on Cherry Tree Road. The 34,000-square-foot structure will yield more than 65,000 rentable square feet of storage, with the project expected to be complete next summer. Cinch operates nine self-storage facilities across Southeast England.

9/2/22 – A development proposed by Holmdel Storage Developers LLC for Holmdel, New Jersey, received criticism during an Aug. 17 zoning-board meeting because of its size and visibility to nearby residents. The design was presented by Holmdel’s parent company, Florida-based The Feldman Cos. Plans include 109,400 square feet of self-storage across three stories and a basement. Board members expressed concerns about the variance requests including a reduction in setbacks and elimination of buffer requirements.

“I think we like things set very far back from the highway, hence the 100-foot setback, and this is very dramatic,” said board member Valerie Avrin-Marchiano. “It’s going to really change how things look in that section. And while nothing is a precedent for anything else in the zoning board, you still have to think about those things when you grant variances.”

Board member Demetri Orfanitopoulos asked the developer to consider a redesign for the façade so it’ll better match the recently approved Brightview Senior Living facility. He also requested that tall trees be added to obscure the building.

Mitch Feldman, president of The Feldman Cos., assured the board they would take all their requests into consideration. “We want to work with you. We’re not here to be an adversary. If there’s things we can adjust, we’ll adjust them and we’ll try to fix it; but in order to get it done, we do need some leniency.”

The board will revisit the proposal on Nov. 9. If approved, the facility will be managed by self-storage real estate trust Extra Space Storage Inc. and branded under its name.

8/18/22 – The global self-storage development pipeline continues to be extremely dynamic. Inside Self-Storage regularly covers new projects being planned and approved as well as zoning and other municipal issues. Following is additional activity taking place in August 2022.

AJCSV LLC, a Texas-based development and investment group, is converting the former Great Escape Family Fun Center in Genoa Township, Michigan. Once complete, Grand River Self-Storage at 2630 E. Grand River Ave. will comprise 43,000 square feet in 325 units. Schafer Construction is overseeing the project, which is expected to be complete in November.

Sam Coryell intends to build a 188-unit self-storage facility in the Galloway Village neighborhood of Springfield, Missouri, but faces opposition from some city officials and residents. The project at 2960 E. Allen Place would be near the Township 28 apartment complex Coryell previously developed through his company TLC Properties. Though city staff recommended approval, the planning and zoning commission last month voted 3-2 against the project, which is also opposed by the Galloway Village Neighborhood Association. The city council is expected to vote on the proposal on Aug. 22.

Feldco Development, a Boston-based real estate development firm, is converting a former Sears appliance and hardware store in Wallingford, Connecticut. Expected to open in fall, the two-story self-storage building at 852 N. Colony Road will comprise 72,000 square feet in 604 units. It’ll be managed by industry real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage Inc. and branded under its name.

Holmdel Storage Developers LLC intends to build a facility in Holmdel, New Jersey. The application for the four-story structure at 2125 Route 35 requests variances for floor-area ratio, a reduction in setbacks and elimination of buffer requirements. The zoning board was expected to review the proposal on Aug. 17.

Money Savers Self Storage has submitted an application to build a facility in Stanwood, Washington. The company plans to add 25,000 cubic yards of fill on the 3.4-acre site at 8618 270th St. N.W. to raise it about 6 feet and put it above the 100-year floodplain. Money Savers operates a facility in Westport, Washington.

New England Family Housing (NEFH) intends to develop a mixed-use project in the Penacook Village area of Concord, New Hampshire, that would include apartments, condominiums, retail and self-storage. Monitor Way would include about 650 housing units, with the storage facility placed in the northern section of the former Concord Monitor parcel, close to existing manufacturing businesses and an incinerator. The project would also include open space and public access to trails. Founded in 2004, NEFH specializes in commercial and residential projects and has properties in Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Texas.

Nidal Hassen, a broker at JonCar Realty, is facing opposition from residents in his quest to develop a storage facility in Fishkill, New York. The 4.7-acre parcel at 1292 Route 9D is zoned restricted business, which doesn’t allow self-storage as a permitted use. Hassen purchased the land in 2019, but submitted the request for a special-use permit in May for the 51,000-square-foot development. Residents voiced their concerns about the project at a July 14 planning-board meeting. The board accept the application for further review but denied Hassen’s request for a waiver of the environmental review.

Padlock Partners UK Fund III will convert a warehouse in Watford, England, to self-storage. The £3.5 million project will comprise 59,200 rentable square feet on three floors. Construction is expected to take 10 months, though the facility will begin leasing once the first 10,000 square feet is built. Fund III, which recently acquired the property for £9 million, is an unincorporated investment trust established to pursue commercial real estate in the United Kingdom, with an emphasis on self-storage.

Pine Brook Properties is developing a self-storage facility in Kalkaska, Michigan. The project on Michigan Highway 72 will comprise 40,000 square feet across eight buildings containing 24 units each. The first three structures are expected to be complete in October. Ben Brower, chief operating officer for Jordan Development Co., is overseeing the development. He and Ben Leggett are minority owners of Pine Brook. Bob Boeve, who’s owned the 80-acre property for 20 years, is the majority owner. Based in Traverse City, Michigan, Jordan Development is an oil and gas exploration and development company. It also owns Ashland Storage at 1067 N. Rusch Road in Traverse City.

Safe Storage Club opened a new facility in Clarksville, Tennessee. The property at 2110 Golf Club Lane offers traditional drive-up and climate-controlled units as well as vehicle storage. The operator has two other locations in Machesney Park, Illinois, and Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Shurgard Self Storage Europe SARL, the European affiliate of U.S.-based REIT Public Storage Inc., is developing a facility in Dusseldorf, Germany. Expected to open in 2024, it’ll comprise 62,430 square feet in 750 units. Shurgard has five projects underway in the North-Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany.

Shurgard is also building a new facility in Diemen Visseringweg, The Netherlands. Expected to open in 2023, it’ll comprise approximately 4,000 square meters in about 550 units. Shurgard has three other projects in various stages of development in the country. The company operates 257 self-storage properties comprising 1.3 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Officials in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, approved a zoning change that’ll allow SmartStop Self Storage REIT Inc. to build a facility in the Smart Centres shopping plaza on Centennial Parkway N. in the Stoney Creek community. The four-story building will have a footprint of 12,482 square meters on about a half hectare. The 4-2 approval came about a month after the city council rejected the rezoning in a 5-1 vote. The proposal was re-examined at the request of councilmember Russ Powers. Stuart Hastings, a planning consultant with Smart Centres, told officials the self-storage facility was needed because about a third of the shopping center remains vacant seven years after it opened. SmartStop is a self-managed REIT that operates an owned and managed portfolio of 172 self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States.

Spartan Investment Group, a Colorado-based privately held real estate investment firm specializing in self-storage, has completed a ground-up development in Sandy, Oregon. FreeUp Storage Sandy at 16555 Champion Way comprises 51,000 square feet in 353 units. Founded in 2014, Spartan operates 51 facilities in 10 states.

Star Columbiana LLC is converting the former Columbiana Phobia Factory in Columbiana, Alabama, to self-storage. The roof and a portion of the building had to be torn down due to deterioration. The project is expected to be complete by spring 2023. Star Columbiana is an affiliate of Mustard Street Management, which specializes in converting big-box retail spaces to self-storage.

Stowaway Self Storage, which operates five locations in Tennessee, is developing a new facility in Greenville. It’ll be the company’s second site in the city. The 2.8-acre parcel at 150 Serral Drive will house 50,000 square feet. The family-owned business also operates sites in Bristol, Gray, Johnson City and Kingsport.

Phoenix-based. U-Haul International Inc. is developing a facility in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Plans for the 4.66-acre parcel at 1550 Arbor Way include a four-story building comprising more than 100,000 square feet. The facility will open in 2024.

U-Haul also intends to convert a former Costco in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, into a self-storage facility and truck-rental center. The building at 25 Trinity Drive has been vacant since November 2018. The city has solicited feedback from property owners within 60 meters of the site. The planning advisory committee is expected to review the proposal on Aug. 24. Established in 1945, U-Haul owns and manages more than 76 million square feet of storage space across North America.

8/4/22 –The global self-storage development pipeline continues to be extremely dynamic. Inside Self-Storage regularly covers new projects being planned and approved as well as zoning and other municipal issues. Following is activity taking place in August 2022.

All Purpose Storage, which operates 65 self-storage facilities in the Midwest and New England, and Patriot Holdings LLC, a Las Vegas-based real estate development and investment firm, are converting a former drive-in movie site in Bennington, Vermont. Plans for 271 Northside Drive include seven buildings comprising 61,400 square feet of storage in 400 units. The estimated $2.7 million project will break ground this summer.

Alpaca Self Store LLC intends to build a 90-unit facility in the North Hall area of Gainesville, Georgia. The company wants to rezone 5.6 acres at 4151 Nopone Road near the North Hall Community Center and Park from agricultural-residential to a planned-commercial district. If approved, the project would include covered boat/RV storage.

Billeaud Cos. opened GuardianStore at 501 W. Fairfield Drive in Broussard, Louisiana. It’s near a mixed-use development and other commercial businesses. The company also operates a boat/RV self-storage facility in town. Family-owned and -operated since 1872, Billeaud specializes in developing commercial real estate and owns more than 800,000 square feet of office and retail space.

Larry and Nancy Bordine intend to develop a self-storage facility in Long Lake Township, Michigan. The property on Denali Drive would offer up to 44 “deluxe storage units” ranging from 750 to 1,250 square feet. Traverse City, Michigan-based True Blue & Associates would serve as general contractor. Planner Leslie Sickterman indicated she’ll recommend approval of the project with several conditions, including no outdoor storage, no washing or repair of vehicles on site, and that the project be built in one phase.

Carefree Covered RV Storage completed its renovation of the former BTR Boat & RV Storage in Wylie, Texas. Built on 11 acres, the $6 million project at 3830 Parker Road comprises more than 195,000 square feet in 518 RV-storage spaces, plus two wash bays and a dog park. It’s about a mile from a sister self-storage facility. Carefree also operates two locations in Arizona. It’s a division of Business Property Trust LLC, a real estate investment firm. Founded in 1999, it also operates the Bargain Storage brand.

Candice and Stanley Clark received approval from the Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania, Board of Supervisors to rezone the rear of their property at 1170 Fairfield Road. The change to a mixed-use zone from medium-high density residential could allow for a future self-storage development as long as supervisors also grant a conditional-use permit. If their plan is approved, the Clarks expect to sell the land to Brian Redding of LTP Rentals, which operates two self-storage facilities in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Home Sweet Home Moving & Storage Co. is seeking approval to convert its warehouse in Wainscott, New York, to a self-storage facility. The company has used the warehouse since the mid-1960s, but now wants to add 443 storage units. Under the design by architectural firm Frank G. Relf, the structure’s footprint wouldn’t change, but the gross floor area would nearly double. Planning-board members expressed concern during a July 13 meeting about the building size, suggesting the developer demolish part of it. They also said a storage facility could lead to traffic congestion. Traffic engineer Aaron Machtay countered the board’s concerns by noting self-storage is the smallest generator of traffic when compared to other potential uses for the property. The developer agreed to resubmit the plan following revisions.

Marble Arch Homes is developing a self-storage facility on part of the former Blackbeard’s Cave Family Entertainment Center in Bayville, New Jersey. Plans for 136 Atlantic City Blvd. include five single-story buildings containing 600 units. The structures will be built on the former golf driving range.

C. Sam McGee wants to rezone a 1-acre tract at 5086 Hog Mountain Road in Flowery Branch, Georgia, so he can complete a self-storage development across 8 acres. The developer has already started grading more than 6 acres adjacent to the lot. If added to the project, the resulting facility would comprise 96,000 square feet of self-storage and 22,000 square feet of boat/RV space. The site would include four two-story buildings.

Mlab International LLC is seeking permission to build an eight-story self-storage facility in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami. The developer submitted the proposal to the urban-development review board for the property at 760 N.W. 21st St. Plans include 103,819 square feet of storage and 2,138 square feet of ground-floor retail. The project was designed by Blitstein Design Architects. Canadian artist Marin Mitrasinovic will paint a mural on two sides of the building. The facility would be managed by self-storage real estate investment trust Public Storage Inc. Mlab principals Luis Farjardo and Ricardo Ordonez purchased the property for $875,000 in 2020.

Shurgard Self Storage Europe SARL, the European affiliate of U.S.-based REIT Public Storage Inc., is building a new facility in West London. Expected to open in 2023, it’ll comprise approximately 6,600 square meters in about 1,200 units. Shurgard has 41 locations in the London metropolitan area. The company operates 257 self-storage properties comprising 1.3 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

SmartStop Self Storage REIT Inc. and ARCO/Murray Design Build completed construction on a new facility at 16618 Bothell Everett Highway in Mill Creek, Washington. The property comprises 36,720 square feet in one three-story and two single-story buildings. SmartStop is a self-managed real estate investment trust that operates an owned and managed portfolio of 172 self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States. Its properties comprise approximately 13.4 million rentable square feet. ARCO/Murray provided engineering design, permitting and construction on the project.

Space Source Inc. is seeking zoning approval to build a facility in Eureka Township, Michigan. Plans for the vacant 4.49-acre parcel at 6090 S. Greenville Road call for 298 units. The planning commission unanimously voted to schedule an Aug. 17 public hearing to discuss the special-use request and official site plan. If approved at this stage, the development can move forward, as consent from the township board won’t be required. Founded in 1996, Space Source has a portfolio that includes car washes, retail space, mobile-home communities and residential properties. It operates two Secure Storage locations in Byron and Hudsonville, Michigan.

U Hold the Key opened a self-storage facility on a .75-acre lot in South Tyneside, England. The Wilson Street location can hold up to 100 shipping containers. Founded in 2001, the company operates 13 self-storage facilities, mostly in Northeast England. It’s a division of the Parsons Containers Group of Companies.

Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. is building a new self-storage facility on 4.12 acres east of U.S. Highway 98 in Daphne, Alabama. Slated to be complete in 2024, the three-story building will contain 700 units. Preliminary plans also call for a separate warehouse for the company’s U-Box portable-storage containers.

U-Haul is also developing a self-storage facility in Princeton, Texas. Plans for the undeveloped 8.83-acre property at Boorman Lane and U.S. Highway 380 include a four-story building offering 750 units. The facility is expected to be complete in summer 2024.

Finally, U-Haul is expanding its facility in Amarillo, Texas. Dallas-based Mycon General Contractors Inc. is constructing a three-story building on a 4-acre parcel at 5316 Canyon Drive, which already contains several single-story buildings. Expected to open in December, the addition will offer 83,000 square feet of storage space in 781 units. Mycon has completed more than 1.4 million square feet of storage and has several projects in the works. Established in 1945, U-Haul owns 75.1 million square feet of storage in 876,000 units.

New Sources:
Watford Observer, Cinch Storage to open in Watford at former Mothercare HQ
The Greenville Sun, Stowaway Storage Expanding in Greeneville
The Highlands Current, Residents Oppose Warehouse on Route 9D
Livingston Daily, Construction Underway to Revive Vacant Great Escape Building for New Storage Units
My Record Journal, Storage Units Coming to Route 5 Plaza in Wallingford
PR Newswire, U-Haul Announces Plans for New Facility, Jobs Coming to Kaukauna
REBusiness Online, Spartan Investment Group Completes First Ground-Up Self-Storage Facility in Oregon
Record Eagle, Self-Storage, RV Park Coming to Kalkaska
Stanwood Camano News, Notable in Business: New Sewing Studio on Camano, Self Storage Facility Planned
Financial Content, The Safe Storage Club Is Excited to Announce the Expansion in Clarksville, TN
Huddle, U-Haul Applies to Take Over Costco’s Former Moncton Home
KSMU, Should a ‘Pretty’ Self-Storage Unit Be Added to Springfield’s Galloway Neighborhood? City Council Will Decide
Newswire, Padlock Partners UK Fund III Completes Acquisition of Watford Self-Storage Property
Patch, Massive Mixed-Use Project Proposed at Former Concord Monitor Property
Shelby County Reporter, Former Phobia Factory Building to Become Storage Facility
Springfield News-Leader, Council Considers Galloway Self-Storage Amid Neighborhood Opposition
Stoney Creen News, Councillors OK Controversial Stoney Creek Smart Centres Plaza Storage Warehouse
Tap Into Holmdel & Colts Neck, Holmdel Zoning Board Holds Public Hearing on Four Story Storage Center
App, Holmdel Self-Storage Facility Proposal Gets Pushback for Being Too Big, Too Visible

Previous Sources:
App, Blackbeard's Cave: What Berkeley Is Doing to Keep it From Being Replaced by Homes
ARCO/Murray, Arco/Murray Completes Another Self Storage Project in The Pacific Northwest
Bdaily, U Hold The Key Expands Into South Tyneside With New South Shields Site
Bennington Banner, Large $2.7M Self-Storage Facility Going up Off Northside Drive
Connect CRE, New Self-Storage Facility Going Up in Amarillo
Daily News, Mini-Storage Facility Proposed for Vacant Lot on M-91 North of Greenville
East Hampton Star, Planners Say It's ‘Too Much Building’ for Wainscott Site
Gettysburg Times, Zone Change Sets Stage for Possible Storage Facility
PR Newswire, Real Estate: U-Haul Reveals Plans for Store in Princeton by 2024
PR Newswire, U-Haul to Produce Jobs, Self-Storage With Land Acquisition in Daphne
PRWeb, Carefree Covered RV Storage Opens Third Location, First in Texas
South Florida Business Journal, 8-Story Building Proposed in Allapattah Area of Miami
The Acadiana Advocate, Billeaud Companies to Open Storage Outlet in Broussard
The Ticker, New 49-Home Subdivision, Self-Storage Facility Planned for Long Lake Township
The Times, Proposal for 44 Townhomes in North Hall Neighborhood Returns to Planning Board