Nuveen Real Estate, an American asset manager and subsidiary of financial-planning firm TIAA Investments, has formally invested in My Place Self Storage, a vertically integrated platform launched in 2021 by Kurt O’Brien, the founder and former CEO of Simply Self Storage. My Place will pursue growth nationally but focus on secondary markets across the Midwest, Mountain West and Sunbelt. Its portfolio will leverage technology to automate many of its facilities, according to a press release.

Nuveen and My Place began acquiring assets together last year in a joint venture that has $300 million in assets under management. The partnership intends to grow the value of its portfolio to $1 billion in the next two years, the release stated.

“We are thrilled to partner with a proven leader like O'Brien, who is aligned with our growth and operational goals in a sector we continue to prioritize,” said Michael Hunter, global co-head of housing and alternatives at Nuveen. “We believe our investment in My Place allows us to control best-in-class operations to drive further value for our investors.”

"Benefiting from non-cyclical demand drivers, limited cap-ex and favorable demographic tailwinds, the outlook for the self-storage sector is a compelling opportunity,” said Melissa Reagen, managing director for Nuveen and portfolio manager of the U.S. Strategic Alternatives Fund. “We believe our carefully crafted acquisition and management strategy will position us well for continued outperformance in the sector.”

O’Brien, who also launched Frigatebird Investments in 2021, has more than three decades of self-storage industry experience as an investor, developer and operator. He served as Simply CEO from 2004 to January 2021. He’s also president of OB Management Services Inc., which specializes in self-storage consulting as well as real estate development and management.

“I look forward to once again constructing a company that uses cutting-edge technology, builds on all of my experience, and leverages the results that have consistently delivered exceptional performance over my career,” O’Brien said. “I'm excited to partner with Nuveen and look forward to growing our platform with best-in-class talent. We could not be more excited about the timing as the investment climate favors efficient and well-capitalized operators.”

Nuveen started investing in self-storage in 2003. It manages more than 2,400 real estate investments worldwide, with $154 billion of assets under management. The company acquired 92.4% of Sweden self-storage operator 24Storage in December 2021. The deal included 26 operating facilities and four properties under development. It also purchased a majority stake in Sweden-based Green Storage in November 2021.

Source: PR Newswire, Nuveen Real Estate to Invest in MyPlace, a Vertically-Integrated Self-Storage Platform