Startup self-storage business Get Space LLC is aggressively entering the Portland, Ore., metropolitan market, with two facilities under construction and five slated to begin development later in the year. The sites, comprising more than 490,000 square feet, are planned for Hillsboro and Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash. The first five should open this year. The company intends to develop up to 15 storage facilities in the area within the next three years and eventually expand to other markets, according to the source.

May 21, 2015

2 Min Read
Get Space to Launch in Portland, OR, With 5 Self-Storage Facilities in 2015

Startup self-storage business Get Space LLC is aggressively entering the Portland, Ore., metropolitan market, with two facilities under construction and five slated to begin development later in the year. The sites, comprising more than 490,000 square feet, are planned for Hillsboro and Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash. The first five should open this year. The company intends to develop up to 15 storage facilities in the area within the next three years and eventually expand to other markets, according to the source.

The project is a joint venture between co-founders Benjamin Bradley and Daniel Lyman, and The Ritchie Group, an investment firm based in Salt Lake City with interests in alternative fuels, emerging energy technology and real estate.

Bradley and Lyman are based in Portland and believe the market has been ignored by other self-storage developers. That notion is supported by data published by commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield (C&W). In its first-quarter 2015Self-Storage Metropolitan Area (MSA) Report for the Portland MSA, C&W indicates there are 8.2 households per existing self-storage unit compared to 7.6 households among the Top 50 MSAs across the nation. In addition, the report states there is 5.5 rentable square feet per person compared to 6.5 square feet nationally, concluding it’s undersupplied.

Get Space intends to leverage convenience and automation at its facilities, with plans to offer 24-hour access and self-service kiosks. The company doesn’t plan to employ any onsite staff, but will have call-center agents or an area manager available to respond to customer needs, the source reported. “We’re bringing a better experience to customers in the self-storage industry by blending the models provided by Redbox and IKEA,” Lyman said in a press release.

Get Space determines the locations for its facilities by using “a proprietary algorithm that creates a parcel by parcel analysis to determine the net demand for self-storage for a specific piece of land,” according to The Ritchie Group website. “The algorithm draws information from advanced geographic data programs, enabling it to deliver timely, relevant and accurate data for any project,” the website reads.

Sources:

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