October 23, 2020

13 Min Read
Self-Storage Development and Zoning Activity: October 2020

Update 10/23/20 – 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 October 2020.

Beyond Self Storage (BSS), which operates 27 locations in 11 states, plans to tear down the former Bradenton Health and Racquet Club building in Bradenton, Fla., and build a self-storage facility in its place. The operator purchased the property at 6500 Manatee Ave. W. in August for $655,000. It’ll be the company’s first location in the city and third in the state. BSS is the operating brand for NorthPoint Development, a development, management and leasing firm that’s principally focused on the industrial, multi-family, senior-living and self-storage markets in the Central United States.

Burlington Self-Storage, which operates seven facilities in three states, opened a new location in Lake Worth, Fla. The 4.5-acre property at 4859 Lantana Road houses a three-story, 146,000-square-foot facility with more than 930 units. Founded in 1990, Burlington operates three facilities in Florida, and two each in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It offers drive-in buildings, climate-controlled units and vehicle-storage spaces.

Cedarwood Development, an affiliate of Cedarwood Cos., completed construction of a new facility in Clearwater, Fla., just south of downtown. The property at 1000 S. Myrtle Ave. comprises 60,000 square feet in 585 units. Cedarwood acquired the 3-arce parcel in 2019 for $1.8 million. It’ll be managed by US Storage Centers, the operating brand for Westport Properties Inc., an owner/operator with more than 10 million rentable square feet in its portfolio. Founded in 1972 and based in Fairlawn, Ohio, Cedarwood has developed commercial and retail projects nationwide. Services include build-to-suit projects, office buildings, shopping centers, multi-family communities, resort hotels, senior-living communities and self-storage.

Real estate development firm Cogent Capital Group completed construction on North Arlington Self Storage in North Arlington, N.J. The five-story facility at 450 Belleville Turnpike comprises 100,665 square feet. It includes an interior drive aisle as well as detached, single-story, garage-style units. The property will be managed by self-storage REIT Extra Space Storage Inc. Architectural and construction services were provided by ARCO/Murray Design Build, a national general contractor with more than 25 years of experience.

Cogent is also developing a self-storage facility on behalf of Chicago-based Syndicated Equities Group near the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis. The $4 million project will comprise 131,261 square feet in 1,074 units. The project is expected to be complete in about a year. Based in Chicago, Cogent has developed more than 25 self-storage facilities in the last eight years.

Self-storage REIT and third-party management firm CubeSmart received permission to build a new facility in Allentown, Pa. The operator plans to demolish an existing building at 1384 S. Fifth St. and develop a pair of single-story structures. Three new stories will be added to a second existing building. Although the two parcels will be consolidated into one 5-acre site, the development will only span 1.7 acres, according to Irene Woodward, the city’s planning and zoning director. Once complete, the location will offer 534 storage units. CubeSmart owns or manages 1,266 self-storage facilities across the United States. Its operating portfolio comprises 85 million square feet.

Indianapolis-based Douglas Realty Group, which is developing a 60-acre mixed-use project in Franklin Township, N.J., received approval to include a 100,000-square-foot self-storage facility. Johnson Fields on the northwest corner of Franklin and Southport Roads will also contain senior housing and medical offices. Douglas, which owns the land, is seeking a national self-storage company to oversee the storage component, said Doug McAuley, principal. Construction is expected to begin early next year.

A joint venture between real estate developers First Columbia LLC and Hampstead America LLC will convert three adjacent buildings in Troy, N.Y., to self-storage. The structures at 494, 498 and 500 River St. were originally part of a Fitzgerald Brewery bottling plant. The property is across from First Columbia’s Hedley Park Place and a Marriott Courtyard hotel jointly owned by both development firms. The final facility will comprise about 100,000 square feet in 1,000 units and be managed by Life Storage. First Columbia is a diversified real estate and investment firm specializing in corporate, high-tech, hospitality, medical, office and senior-housing properties.

Next Door Self-Storage, which operates 17 facilities in Illinois, is seeking approval to convert the former Kmart store at Jefferson Street and Larkin Avenue in Joliet, Ill., to a mixed-use property that’ll include storage, a grocer, retail and a restaurant. Plans call for nearly 62,000 square feet of the 97,000-square-foot building to be converted and expanded into a two-story facility comprising 144,000 square feet in 800-plus units. Another 21,000 square feet of storage in 66 units would be developed on the parking lot of the 10.6-acre parcel. Approximately 35,000 square feet would be designated for retail. That could change if the developer attracts a grocer, said Michael Hansen, the attorney representing Next Door.

Safe Affordable Storage LLC opened Posen Storage in Posen, Ill. The newly constructed facility at 14750 S. Western Ave. comprises 60,080 rentable square feet in 542 units. The property is near multi-family apartments and a senior-housing facility. It’ll be managed by Absolute Storage Management (ASM), a third-party management company. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., ASM operates more than 100 properties in 13 states.

StoreEase, a self-storage operator that also provides a virtual third-party management platform, opened a new location in Cleveland. Like other facilities in its portfolio, the site at 3005 Chester Ave. is managed virtually. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., StoreEase acquires, develops and oversees 15 self-storage facilities in Alabama and Ohio. It’s also building new projects in the Southeast.

Store Here Management LLC, the division of RHW Capital Management Group LLC that operates the Store Here Self Storage brand, opened a new facility in Racine, Wis. Converted from an industrial building, the single-story structure at 1220 Mound Ave. comprises 150,000 net rentable square feet. Founded in 2012 by self-storage veterans with more than 70 years of combined experience, RHW owns or manages 28 self-storage facilities in 13 states. Its operating portfolio comprises more than 2 million net rentable square feet. Store Here operates facilities across 11 states.

10/8/20 – 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 October 2020.

Arizona Self-Storage will build its second Tucson Self-Storage location at Craycroft and River Roads in Tucson, Ariz. The developer recently secured an $8.5 million construction loan from Integrity Capital LLC.

U.K. self-storage operator Big Yellow Group PLC received planning approval to develop a 106,000-square-foot facility in the Kings Cross area of London. Site work is expected to begin in January, with the project scheduled to be complete by spring 2023. Big Yellow Group operates 101 self-storage locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo Self Storage brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London and Southeast England. Its total portfolio comprises 5.8 million square feet.

Real estate developer Jim Calvary received plan approval from Jeffersonville, Ind., officials for a self-storage facility he intends to build at 1027 E. 10th St., behind a Kroger grocery store. The structure will comprise 710 units, with an architectural design to match surrounding buildings.

Equator Capital Management LLC, a New York-based private-equity group, completed construction on a self-storage facility in Staten Island, N.Y. The site at 22 Zebra Place comprises 104,131 square feet. It’s managed by real estate investment trust (REIT) Life Storage Inc. Founded by Mehul B. Patel in 2008, Equator invests in a range of real estate classes, acquiring, developing and repositioning properties in various industries, including self-storage. It works with institutional partners, private investors and joint-venture partners.

Hills Building Group Ltd., which specializes in commercial and residential property development in the United Kingdom, is expanding its Hills Self Storage property at the Brook Street Business Centre in Colchester, England. The company converted the former East of England Co-Op furniture warehouse last year to offer 50,000 square feet of storage space. The expansion project includes converting the structure’s basement to self-storage and adding storage containers to the site. Some containers will include glass doors and windows for customers interested in creating “pop-up shops” onsite. Hills also intends to offer valet-style pickup and delivery services.

In Self Storage Management LLC will convert a former Toys R Us store in Colorado Springs, Colo. Built on 3 acres in a Qualified Opportunity Zone, the freestanding building at 3730 N. Citadel Drive comprises 47,125 square feet. The development is part of a larger retail initiative intended to revitalize the southwest corner of Galley Road and N. Academy Boulevard. In Self Storage operates 20 facilities in seven states.

Life Storage received permission to expand its facility in Woodstock, Ga. The building at 42 Sycamore Lane comprises 104,000 square feet. The REIT plans to add a second structure containing 43,200 square feet of indoor self-storage and 12 outdoor vehicle-parking spaces. The new building will match the first, and a chain-link fence will be installed around the parking spaces, with landscaping to provide screening.

JPN Self-Storage opened in Grasonville, Md. Owner Gurjit Nijjar named the facility using the initials of his two-year-old daughter, Joban. The facility at 107 Hissey Road is open 24 hours a day. A Sept. 19 ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Nijjar family members, friends and business associates.

NitNeil Partners, an Atlanta-based investment firm specializing in self-storage, intends to develop a new facility on a 1.8-acre parcel it purchased in Smyrna, Tenn. The site at 851 Isabella Lane is expected to comprise 63,185 square feet in 591 units. The property is between a Publix and Home Depot retail outlets. The site was acquired on Oct. 2 from Smyrna Storage LLC in a deal brokered by the Self Storage Group of Colliers International. NitNeil owns 23 self-storage facilities in 10 states comprising 1.4 million net rentable square feet.

Ocean Storage, which operates five locations in Virginia, opened a newly constructed facility in Chesapeake. The multi-level structure at 31 Volvo Parkway offers indoor, climate-controlled units. It’ll be managed by Storage Asset Management (SAM), a property-management and consulting firm founded in 2010 and based in York, Pa. SAM oversees more than 220 storage facilities operating under 60-plus brands. Ocean operates two facilities in Chesapeake, two in Virginia Beach, and one each in Cape Charles, Norfolk and Yorktown, Va.

Patagon Ventures LLC, a national self-storage developer and owner based in Park City, Utah., has completed a new development in Portland, Ore. The three-story building at 150 Riverside St. comprises 101,979 square feet in 842 units and has 25 uncovered vehicle-parking spaces. Boardwalk Storage Solutions was the contractor, with Di’velept Architecture + Design providing the design. It’ll be managed by Life Storage and branded under its name. Patagon developed and owns 14 self-storage facilities in five states and has an additional five storage projects underway.

Safestore received approval last month to build a facility in Macomb, Mich. The multi-story building will be in the Elite Business Park, a seven-lot parcel that’s south of 23 Mile Road and west of Romeo Plank Road.

Savannah Ventures LLC received approval to develop a single-story 1st State Self Storage facility in Milford, Del. Though the site along U.S. Route 113 is zoned commercial, the project required a conditional-use permit because it’ll include a manager’s residence. Officials limited the project to one story and requested special conditions related to lighting and perimeter fencing, as well as a 15-foot tree buffer between the property line and a neighboring residence.

SecureSpace Self Storage opened a new location in Kearny, N.J. The facility at 8 Breiderhoft Road comprises 113,000 square feet. Parent company InSite Property Group acquired the parcel in 2018. Based in Redondo Beach, Calif., SecureSpace operates four facilities in California, Florida and New Jersey, with three projects under development in those states. InSite is a developer, builder and operator of self-storage, with more than 20 facilities under development.

Shurgard Self Storage Europe SARL, the European affiliate of U.S.-based REIT Public Storage Inc., is building a new location in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, after a January fire destroyed another facility it operated in the city. Expected to open next year, the multi-story structure will comprise 43,055 square feet in more than 850 units.

Shurgard also opened a new facility in Croydon, a town in South London. The four-story facility at 78 Purley Way comprises 70,000 square feet in 1,200 units. The company operates 242 self-storage properties comprising 1.2 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Storage Sense will expand a newly acquired property in Fort Myers, Fla. Built in 1997 at 15801 Hart Road, the facility comprises 47,450 square feet in 448 units. The expansion will add 10,000 square feet of rental space in 105 climate-controlled units. The site has had multiple renovations in its history, most recently in 2006. Storage Sense operates more than 100 self-storage facilities in 23 states.

Stor-N-Lock, which operates 22 facilities in California, Colorado, Idaho and Utah, is seeking approval to build a new location in Boise, Idaho. Designed by Hatch Design Architects, the single-story facility at 5926 S. Federal Way would contain 68,576 square feet.

The William Warren Group (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage brand, opened a new location in Bothell, Wash. The facility at 21008 Bothell Everett Highway is near the Thrasher’s Corner neighborhood. Founded in 1994 and based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG acquires, develops and operates more than 165 self-storage facilities in 14 states.

White Hickory Associates, a related entity of development firm Robert Martin Co. LLC, received approval to build a self-storage facility within the Premier Plaza Shopping Center in Tarrytown, N.Y. Plans for 630 White Plains Road include a 56,525-square-foot building containing 292 units.

New Sources:
Albany Business Review, First Columbia to Renovate River Street Property into Self-Storage Facility
Benzinga, Store Here Self Storage Announces New Facility in Racine Wisconsin 
Bradenton Herald, Another Self Storage Company to Build in Bradenton
Commercial Property Executive, Cedarwood Cos. Debuts 1st Clearwater Storage Property
First Columbia, Historic Troy Beer Bottling Plant to be Rehabbed
IBJ, Franklin Township Retail Project Picking Up Steam, Adding Self-Storage and Medical Space
RE Journals, Syndicated Equities Invests $4 Million in Development of Self-Storage Facility in Minneapolis
The Herald News, Kmart Redevelopment Plan Would Bring Min-Warehouses to Joliet's Busiest Intersection
WFMZ, Allentown Planners OK South Fifth Street Self-Storage Development

Previous Sources:
Mile High, Former Toys R Us Building in Colorado Springs to be Converted to Self-Storage
The Gazette, Toys R Us Building in Colorado Springs to Undergo Makeover
Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News, Woodstock Approves Permit for Self-Storage Expansion
Bay Times and Record Observer, JPN Self-Storage in Grasonville
C&G, Plan Approved for Self-Storage Facility
Idaho Statesman, Storage Business
Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals, Self-Storage Building Approved at Premier Plaza
Colorado Real Estate Journal, Former Toys R Us Bldg. Sells for Conversion to Mini Storage
Daily Gazette, Hills Self Storage in Colchester Begins Latest Expansion Plans
Newswire, SecureSpace Self Storage Announces the Grand Opening of a New Self Storage Facility in Kearny, New Jersey
Milford Live, Storage Facility Approved for Route 113
Morningstar, Big Yellow Gets Planning Consent for Kings Cross Store in London
News and Tribune, Plans for Senior Living Apartments, Storage Facility Approved for 10th Street

 

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