FL Automated Self-Storage Facility Headed to Foreclosure Auction

A notable South Florida developer may lose his 72,000-square-foot automated self-storage facility in Coconut Creek, Fla., at a foreclosure auction. Safe and Secure Automated Self Storage Systems, which is located about 20 miles north of Fort Lauderdale and opened in 2009, is set for online auction on April 12.

The facility uses computers and robotics to assist customers, and advertises other features such as 24-hour access, full power backup, and high-tech security monitoring and surveillance. It received the 2010 Outstanding Green Facility Award from Mini-Storage Messenger.

Developer and lawsuit guarantor Anthony Pugliese III lost a $12.8 million foreclosure judgment to Branch Banking & Trust Co., based on an $11.7 million mortgage, interest and fees. The judgment did not rule on whether Pugliese would be liable for damages. Safe and Secure was the flagship property in Pugliese's self-storage portfolio. It was the first self-storage facility worldwide to use the Automated Self Storage Systems technology.

In a separate venture, Pugliese is behind the proposed 41,300-acre Destiny in Central Florida, an Osceola County project that bills itself as fully eco-sustainable, mixed-use development. A self-storage facility is part of the development, as well as nine residential with 270 rental units, a restaurant, a pedestrian plaza, a linear park containing artwork and a man-made lake.

According to the source, Pugliese has faced a handful of foreclosure lawsuits since last year, including an apartment complex in Coconut Creek, a commercial project in nearby Sebastian and a site in Martin County.

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