North Palisade Partners Expands Self-Storage Platform, Adds Senior Executive to Lead $400M of Capital Deployment

North Palisade Partners, a real estate development and investment firm, has expanded its self-storage platform, North Palisade Self Storage. The company also hired Steve Cobbs to serve as managing director, with plans to aggregate $400 million to $500 million in self-storage assets over the next 36 months, according to a press release.

The firm will focus on value-add acquisitions and development opportunities in primary and secondary markets nationwide. “We believe the current dislocation in values provides an opportune time to deploy capital,” said Cobbs, who’ll oversee acquisitions as well as deal sourcing, due diligence and transaction executions.

In addition to identifying and acquiring sites for development and oversee each process, Cobbs will assist in creating and implementing capital-raising efforts and finance strategies for the company’s investments. He’ll also be responsible for asset-management functions related to the 330,000 square feet of self-storage already held by North Palisade Partners, including one facility in Huntington Beach, California, and another under development in the same city, the release stated.

Cobbs has nearly 30 years of commercial real estate experience. Most recently, he served as a director for Invesco Real Estate, overseeing all aspects of the firm’s self-storage platform including acquisitions, asset management and underwriting. He helped the company enter the self-storage sector, an effort that resulted in a $1 billion portfolio comprising 60 properties in 16 states. Earlier in career, Cobbs worked for First Guardian Group, KBS Realty Advisors, Newmark Group, Siebel Systems Inc. and Sun Microsystems.

Cobbs serves on the board of directors for the California Self Storage Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of the Pacific and a master’s from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

“The self-storage asset class has emerged as a growing aspect of North Palisade’s overall real estate investment portfolio. That growth has led to a need for a sector-specific team to continue building and maintaining our burgeoning portfolio,” said Joe Mishurda, managing partner of North Palisades Partners. “Steve’s acute focus on the self-storage sector and impressive portfolio-building track record in this asset class, combined with a career that spans nearly three decades, makes him an ideal complement to our team and to lead our self-storage platform.”

“I am looking forward to building a formidable self-storage platform at North Palisade as we capture demand from investors seeking the solid risk-adjusted returns this recession-resilient asset class can produce,” Cobbs said. “I’ve had the fortune of establishing a performance-driven reputation in this asset class, and that’s led to an array of both on- and off-market self-storage acquisition and development opportunities over the years.”

Founded in 2018 and based in Los Angeles, North Palisade Partners owns 25 industrial or self-storage properties representing nearly $860 million in assets under management. Last year, it opened Palisade Nadeau Storage, which is managed and branded by self-storage real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage Inc. Its second site, Palisades Randolph Storage, is expected to open by year end.

Source: Commercial Observer, North Palisade Partners Expanding Self-Storage Platform, Taps New Team Leader