LockBox Storage Build and Expands in Iowa, Nebraska

Real estate firm McGregor Interests Inc. (MII), which operates 10 self-storage facilities in Iowa and Nebraska under the LockBox Storage brand, is working on four development projects, including a conversion, two expansions of existing facilities and a ground-up development, according to a press release.

MII will be adding 35,000 square feet next year to Old Market Mini Storage at 501 Pacific St. in Omaha, Neb., which it purchased in July. The property sits in an opportunity zone, an economically distressed community in which new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

“I created a qualified opportunity zone fund to acquire the property,” said MII Founder Geoff McGregor. “Our partners were able to invest capital gains they earned from the stock market and reinvest those gains into our qualified opportunity funds (QOF).”

The fund’s goal is to take advantage of tax savings, McGregor said. The project’s investors will avoid paying gains tax until the seventh year, at which time they’ll only pay 85 percent of the tax owed, McGregor said. “Then, if we own it for 10 years and sell it, we all get a step up in basis to the then fair market value, thus avoiding any capital gains on the appreciation of the asset. We are one of the first QOFs to be formed and acquire an asset in the state.”

The company is also expanding the former Crescent Ridge Mini Storage at 3319 Ute Ave. in Waukee, Iowa, which it purchased last year. Construction is underway to add 68,000 square feet including outdoor vehicle storage.

In February, MII purchased a 92,000-square-foot industrial building in Omaha that it intends to convert to self-storage. The 4.5-acre property at 301 S. 74th St. once housed Lancer Label, a commercial printing company, until it went out of business. The original structure was deemed functionally obsolete as an industrial building due to low ceiling height and single-side load, the release stated. Once complete, the new facility will offer traditional self-storage and vehicle storage.

Construction has also begun on a new location in Omaha. Expected to open in the spring, the facility at 11163 S. 168th St. will comprise 85,000 square feet.

MII has completed additional projects in the past three years. It built a 75,000-square-foot building in Waukee, Iowa, in 2018, and a facility of the same size in Grimes, Iowa, the year before. Other developments included an expansion of its facilities in Bennington, Blair and Waterloo, Neb.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Omaha, MII is a diversified real estate firm that specializes in industrial facilities, self-storage and shopping centers in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.