February 19, 2021

13 Min Read
Self-Storage Real Estate Acquisitions and Sales: February 2021

Update 2/19/2021 – Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Here’s an overview of additional activity happening in February 2021.

Real estate investment firm Nicol Investment Co. acquired four CubeSmart facilities in Tennessee. The purchases are 5070 Carothers Parkway in Franklin, 125 Saundersville Road in Hendersonville, 2148 Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro, and 4311 Alabama Ave. in Nashville. Founded in 1975, Nicol acquires, develops and co-invests in agricultural, multi-family, senior housing, office, retail and self-storage properties in the Southeast.

Pogoda Cos., which operates the National Storage Centers brand in Michigan and Ohio, acquired a CubeSmart-managed property in Comstock Park, Mich. Built on 3.25 acres, the facility at 4150 Alpine Ave. N.W. comprises 79,420 net rentable square feet in 764 units. It opened in January. Based in Farmington Hills, Mich., Pogoda operates 51 facilities comprising 3.5 million square feet. The seller, an LLC, was represented in the transaction by Gabriel Coe, Brett R. Hatcher and Brian Kelly, investment specialists, for M&M. Coe, Hatcher and Kelly also secured the buyer.

HPI Real Estate Services & Investments purchased a facility in San Antonio that was previously managed by Extra Space Storage. Built in 2016 on 2.4 acres, the two-story structure at 5611 Lone Star Parkway comprises 93,050 net rentable square feet in 775 units. The acquisition is the third made by HPI’s second self-storage fund, which launched late last year. The buyer owns five other facilities in the metro area. The seller was represented in the transaction by Ryan Clark, director of sales, and Zack Urow, senior vice president, of SkyView Advisors, a Tampa, Fla.-based commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in self-storage.

Public Storage acquired a two-property portfolio in Chandler and Scottsdale, Ariz., that was previously managed by Extra Space. Together, the facilities at 2090 S. Dobson Road and 1650 N. Pima Road, respectively, comprise 176,610 net rentable square feet. The buyer and the seller, a joint venture between Blue Vista Capital Management and Vintage Partners LLC, were represented in the transaction by Schlosser as well as Charles “Chico” LeClaire, executive managing director of investments, and Ryan Sarbinoff, vice president for M&M.

Wynne Properties Group LLC acquired Handy Mini Storage in Wynne, Ark. The facility at 1306 S. Falls Blvd. comprises 96,350 rentable square feet in more than 600 units. It’ll be managed by Absolute Storage Management (ASM), a private, third-party management company that operates more than 140 properties in 16 states.

Highlands Self-Storage in Sebring, Fla., sold to a private investor for $1.05 million. Built on 1.34 acres, the facility at 7825 S. George Blvd. comprises 19,914 square feet in 81 units. The buyer and seller, a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Ray Turchi and David Vaughan, investment specialists, and Chris Travis, self-storage specialist, for M&M.

Lock N’ Key Storage in Knob Noster, Mo., sold in a 1031 exchange to Lock N’ Self Storage LLC, an out-of-state investor who intends to move to Missouri to self-manage the property. Built on 3.4 acres, the facility at 806 W. McPherson St. comprises 41,880 rentable square feet. The property has room for expansion. The seller, a retiring member of the Air Force who’s transitioning to a coffee franchise, was represented in the transaction by Larry Goldman of Goldman Investment Advisors, an Argus affiliate.

Richards Place Self Storage in Sparks, Nev., sold for $11.4 million as part of a 1031 exchange. The facility at 1939 Richards Place comprises 75,406 square feet in 493 units. The sale also included 56,455 square feet of adjacent land at 2050 Pyramid Way. The seller was represented in the transaction by Steve Avanzino, senior vice president for real estate firm Lee & Associates.

St. Peters Self Storage LLC purchased Steward Self Storage in St. Peters, Mo. The facility at 101 N. Service Road comprises 48,300 rentable square feet in 350 units. It’ll be managed by ASM.

A two-property Storage Solutions portfolio in Lafayette, Ga., sold to a local buyer for $1.4 million. Built on about 5 acres, the facilities at 3266 GA-1 and 501 Grant St. comprise 32,000 rentable square feet. The buyer intends to expand the properties with climate-controlled units and boat/RV parking. The deal was brokered by Kris Knowles, associate salesperson for Midcoast Properties Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage focused on self-storage in Alabama, the Carolinas and Georgia.

Iron Guard Storage, which operates 36 facilities in 11 states, purchased Storage Solutions in Opelika, Ala., for $3 million. The facility at 501 N. 26th St. comprises 42,387 rentable square feet in 324 units and 20 vehicle-storage spaces. The seller was represented in the transaction by Barnhill and LaGroue Sr.

Tully Mini Storage in Tully, N.Y., sold to B&C Storage. Built in two phases between 1986 and 2005, the facility at 5720 Meetinghouse Road comprises 20,473 square feet in five buildings. B&C intends to expand the facility with additional storage buildings. Founded in 1995, it operates 18 facilities throughout Central New York.

Tulsa Hills Storage in Tulsa, Okla., sold to Attic @ Tulsa Hills LLC. The facility at 8610 S. Elwood Ave. comprises 266 units. The sellers—Brett Biery, Paul Korte, Anthony Isler and McAuley Properties LLC—were represented in the transaction by Elliott, Hammond and Mele of Cushman & Wakefield.

WH Storage Partners LLC purchased Walter Hill Storage in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The facility at 851 E. Jefferson Pike comprises 43,425 rentable square feet in 360-plus units. It’ll be managed by ASM.

Wildcat Storage in Tucson, Ariz., sold for $3.4 million. The 2.19-acre property at 657 W. St Mary’s Road includes three multi-story buildings containing 53,581 net rentable square feet. The facility comprises 290 storage units, a residential loft, and 22 suites occupied by businesses such as home-improvement retailers, local artists and a nursery. The seller, Downtown Tucson Storage LLC, was represented in the transaction by Bobby Loeffler, president, and Tyler Skelly, national director, of the Loeffler Self-Storage Group Inc., which specializes in self-storage real estate in California and Nevada.

2/5/2021 – Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Here’s an overview of activity happening in February 2021.

AAA Storage of Brevard in Palm Bay, Fla., sold to Personal Mini Storage, a participating regional operator of real estate investment trust (REIT) National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT). The facility at 1731 Robert J. Conlan Blvd. N.E. comprises 53,100 net rentable square feet in 289 units. It’s the 46th location for Personal Mini, which will rebrand the property under its name. The seller, a private limited liability company (LLC), was represented in the transaction by Patrick Kidder, president of self-storage brokerage and advisory firm Meridian Storage Group. Kidder also secured the buyer. Based in Maryland, NSAT specializes in self-storage, with ownership interest in 456 facilities across 23 states.

Merit Hill Capital LP acquired Airport Self Storage in West Columbia, S.C., and Tri-County Mini Storage in Hamilton, Ohio, from a Las Vegas-based private investment group. Together, the facilities at 4510 Port Union Road and 4025 Edmund Highway, respectively, comprise 94,500 rentable square feet in 839 units. The buyer was represented in the transaction by Harold Kolbe of Southeastern Business Intermediaries LLC. Frank DeSalvo of Sands Investment Group represented the seller. New York-based Merit Hill acquires, owns and manages self-storage facilities nationwide. It operates 130 properties in 30 states.

NSA Property Holdings LLC, an affiliate of NSAT, purchased Always Storage in Guthrie, Okla., for $475,000. The business includes a property at 3819 S. Division St. and an annex at 724 E. Prairie Grove Road, with a total of 801 units. The seller, Always Storage LLC, was represented in the transaction by Luke Elliott, Trey Hammond and Michael Mele, investment specialists with Cushman & Wakefield, a provider of real estate services including consulting and appraisal, debt and equity financing, and sales and acquisitions.

Investment firm VanWest Partners acquired Betta Stor-It in Mary Ester, Fla., and Rome Hilliard Self Storage in Columbus, Ohio, through VanWest Self Storage Fund II LLC. Betta Stor-It, at 2614 Highway 98 W., comprises 37,500 net rentable square feet in 328 units and 14 boat/RV spaces. The Rome Hilliard property at 466 Hilliard Rome Road comprises 49,760 net rentable square feet in 380 units and about 150 boat/RV spaces. Both properties will be rebranded under VanWest’s ClearHome Self Storage management platform. VanWest recently launched Fund II to pursue value-add self-storage acquisitions across the United States. The company and its affiliates have now invested in 25 self-storage projects comprising more than 1.25 million net rentable square feet.

Blue Sky Self Storage and C&S Mini Storage in Pullman, Wash., sold as a two-property portfolio for $5.3 million in a 1031 exchange. The facilities are 2.5 miles apart at 2500 S. Grand Ave. and 520 N.W. Park St., respectively. They comprise 71,202 net rentable square feet in 553 units. The seller, a Washington-based LLC, was represented in the transaction by Christopher R. Secreto, senior managing director of investments and an executive director of the National Self-Storage Group for Marcus & Millichap (M&M), a commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout Canada and the United States.

Casitas Self Storage in Ventura, Calif., sold to Right Space Storage, a participating regional operator of NSAT. The facility at 5386 N. Ventura Ave. comprises 31,039 square feet in 338 units. The seller, a local LLC, was represented in the transaction by Keith Phillips, investment associate, and Adam Schlosser, senior vice president of investments, for the LeClaire-Schlosser Group of M&M.

National Storage Operations, a Chicago-based real estate investment firm, acquired Clarksville Self Storage and Stor-Alot Self Storage in Clarksville, Tenn. The 5-acre Clarksville property at 2732 Trenton Road comprises 52,500 square feet in 424 units. Stor-Alot at 201 Terminal Road contains 53,700 square feet in 388 units. The Stor-Alot buyer, an LLC, and the local seller were represented in the transaction by Anne Williams-Blackwell of the Williams Storage Group of M&M.

Public Storage, a self-storage REIT and third-party management firm, acquired a Huntsville, Ala., property managed by fellow REIT CubeSmart. The facility at 11580 Memorial Parkway S.W. comprises 86,825 rentable square feet in 677 units. The deal was negotiated by Bill Barnhill and Stuart P. LaGroue Sr., brokers with Argus Self Storage Advisors, a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties.

Double Diamond Storage Group sold Double Diamond Storage Ottawa LLC in Ottawa, Kan., to a private buyer for $555,000. The unmanned facility at 609 N. Bennett Road comprises nearly 10,000 square feet. It's been rebranded by the buyer as Ottawa Storage KS. Based in Overland Park, Kan., Double Diamond owns several unmanned facilities throughout the Kansas City metro area.

A joint venture between Barker Pacific Group Inc. and Artemis Real Estate Partners has acquired three Extra Space Storage facilities in Arizona. Two are in Gilbert, with the third in the Tramonto neighborhood in Phoenix. Together, they comprise 234,350 square feet in 2,189 units. The joint venture now owns four facilities in the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area. Barker specializes in the acquisition, development, construction management and property management of commercial projects. Artemis is an investment manager based in Washington, D.C., with offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City.

Hosford Self Storage in the Hosford-Abernathy neighborhood of Portland, Ore., sold to Pegasus Group, which operates more than 50 properties nationwide under the Central Self-Storage brand. Built in 2018 on 1.29 acres, the four-story facility at 685 S.E. Division Place comprises 87,597 square feet in 1,089 units. The seller, an affiliate of Banner Real Estate Group, was represented in the transaction by Steve Mellon and Brian Somoza, managing directors, and Ira Virden, senior managing director, of JLL Capital Markets, a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers.

Kyle Premier Storage in Kyle, Texas, sold to Delaware-based AGAP Kyle LLC. The facility at 19580 IH35 comprises 81,781 net rentable square feet in 707 units. The buyer and the seller, William R. Holms, were represented in the transaction by Bill Bellomy and Michael Johnson of Bellomy & Co., a commercial real estate firm with offices in Austin and Houston, Texas.

U.K. self-storage operator Lok'nStore Group PLC acquired a location it managed in Chichester, England, from Gypsy Moth Storage for £4 million. In a separate deal, the company also sold a development site in Wolverhampton, England, to Gypsy Moth for £1.52 million. The land deal includes planning permission and design work for a 52,000-square-foot facility. The transaction also includes a new services agreement with Gypsy Moth under which Lok'nStore will provide development advice during construction and take over third-party management of the facility once built. It’s expected to open by the first quarter of 2022. Founded in 1995, Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis. It operates 36 self-storage facilities in Southern England.

Andover Properties LLC, which operates the Storage King USA brand, acquired facilities in Cocoa and Rockledge, Fla. Midgard Self Storage, at 3835 W. King St. in Cocoa, comprises 51,270 square feet. It’s in a growing residential area and recently underwent capital improvements, including a new roof and access gate. Built on 7.57 acres, StoreSmart Self Storage, at 5485 Schenck Ave. in Rockledge, comprises 107,081 net rentable square feet of storage. Both will be rebranded under the Storage King USA name. Founded in 2003 and based in New York City, Andover owns and operates 38 self-storage facilities in 12 states, totaling more than 2.7 million rentable square feet.

Millbury Self Storage in Millbury, Mass., sold to George Hristodoulou of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jeffrey Iacco of Cleveland for $2.6 million. The 7.5-acre property at 147 Providence St. last sold for $100,000. The seller was a firm registered to George Stanton of Millbury.

Apple Self Storage acquired Nor-Shore Self Storage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, from the Provenzano family. The facility at 646 Hewitson St. offers drive-up self-storage and outdoor vehicle storage. Founded in 1975, family-owned Apple operates 35 facilities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario.

A two-property portfolio in Massachusetts sold. Built on 4 acres in 2019, Sohier Road Self Storage at 130 Sohier Road in Beverly comprises 96,513 square feet in 817 units. Willow Street Self Storage in Gloucester sits on 3.38 acres, containing 66,624 square feet in 373 units. The seller was represented in the transaction by The Hatcher Group of M&M.

Wood Village Stow-A-Way Mini Storage in Wood Village, Ore., sold for $2.6 million to an LLC. The 2.1-acre parcel at 2195 N.E. 244th Ave. is in an opportunity zone. The facility comprises 21,600 net rentable square feet in 157 units. The seller, a local investor, was represented in the transaction by Secreto of M&M.

New Sources:
AZ Big Media, Marcus & Millichap Sells 2-Property Storage Portfolio
Multi-Housing News, B&C Storage Acquires 18th Facility in Central New York
Multi-Housing News, HPI Real Estate Acquires San Antonio Self Storage
PR Newswire, B&C Storage Acquires Self Storage Facility In Tully, New York
REBusiness Online, Marcus & Millichap Arranges Sale of 764-Unit Self-Storage Facility Near Grand Rapids
This Is Reno, Large Self-Storage Facility in Sparks Sells for Over $11 Million

Previous Sources:
Connect Atlanta, National Storage Operations Snags 424-Unit Self-Storage Facility in Metro Nashville
PR Newswire, Central Florida-based Personal Mini Storage Acquires 46th Self-Storage Location in Palm Bay, Florida
PR Web, Apple Self Storage Opens a New Self Storage Facility in Thunder Bay
ShareCast, Lok'nStore Acquires Chichester Store, Sells Wolverhampton Site
The Daily Sentinel, VanWest Partners Acquires Two Properties for Second Self Storage Fund
The Oklahoman, REIT Quietly Buys Guthrie, OK, Self-Storage
Worcester Business Journal, Out-of-State Buyers Pay $2.6M for Millbury Storage Site

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