Guidelines for a Successful Self-Storage Site Layout, Plus Tips for Unit MixGuidelines for a Successful Self-Storage Site Layout, Plus Tips for Unit Mix

You’ve vetted and purchased a parcel of land for a self-storage development. Now, what will you do with it? It’s time to carefully plan the layout and unit mix so your new facility can succeed. There are many factors that’ll influence this phase of the project, and it’s vital that you understand them.

Steve Hajewski

July 28, 2024

7 Min Read

The layout and unit mix of a self-storage facility is as crucial as its location. A well-thought-out site plan can significantly enhance operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and, ultimately, profitability. In this article, I’ll review important factors that’ll influence what you build and how you design it.

First, What to Build?

Before attempting to lay out your self-storage property, you need to determine the most appropriate type of building for your site. Start by examining the existing facilities in the market to see what kinds of storage are already available.

  • Basic drive-up storage is the simplest to develop. These structures are typically 30 or 40 feet wide, with 25 feet between rows.

  • Climate-controlled buildings are usually wider to allow for efficient use of space with interior hallways. Fifty to 70 feet wide is common.

  • Multi-story storage is more likely to be found on costly, smaller parcels.

  • If there’s a demand for boat and RV storage in your area, consider larger units with taller doors. For boats, units should be 12-by-25 or 12-by-30, with 10-foot-tall doors and wider driveways. Common RV units are 12 or 14 feet wide and 30 to 50 feet deep, with doors that are 12 or 14 feet tall.

If you’re considering multiple parcels, you can save time by developing cost and revenue models based on per-square-foot prices. Basic drive-up storage typically yields about 30% to 35% rentable space, whereas wide, climate-controlled, single-story projects can achieve better land coverage in the 40% to 50% range. Though construction costs for specific classes of storage tend to be consistent regardless of location, land pricing and potential revenue can vary significantly from one location to another.

The Basics

Once you’ve determined what type of self-storage to build on your parcel, it’s time to start laying out the site. Consider these important factors:

Setbacks and easements. This critical information serves as an essential starting point. Ask if the land seller can provide it in an AutoCAD file. If not, reach out to any surveyors or civil engineers who have their contact information on existing property surveys, or commission a new survey.

Topography. Variations in elevation across your parcel can significantly influence your design strategy. Minor changes can be accommodated with driveway adjustments or the addition of steps. For larger slopes, a “two-story-into-a-hill” style is an effective approach. It uses about 10 feet of the hillside to serve as a retaining wall, allowing you to offer two levels of facility access without the need for an elevator or stairs.

Driveway restrictions. Your city (or state, if the property is on a state highway), may impose limitations on driveway placement. Make sure you know this.

Local requirements. Check with your city’s building or zoning office for possible restrictions. Besides confirming that your current zoning allows for self-storage, it’s important to understand whether there may be regulations that limit unit doors facing the street, dictate your choice of building materials or specify landscape requirements.

Fire codes. Research local policies for firewalls and sprinklers, as they can influence your building size and design. In many parts of the country, you may be allowed to construct buildings of up to 12,000 square feet or divide them into 12,000-square-foot sections with firewalls. However, some communities mandate sprinklers or firewalls for structures as small as 2,500 square feet. While your building supplier can provide general guidance, your local fire marshal is the definitive authority.

Sprinklers can significantly increase construction and ongoing inspection costs, so the general aim is to avoid them if possible. Firewalls often present a more cost-effective compliance solution, especially for drive-up self-storage units.

Traffic flow. To ensure an adequate turning radius and room for two-way traffic, leave 23 to 28 feet between standard self-storage buildings, with 30 feet at the building ends. In northern regions, consider extending this to 35 feet to accommodate additional space for snow.

Also, minimizing dead ends can help prevent vehicle vs. building incidents. Keep in mind, customers may be driving borrowed pickups, rented trucks or trailers with which they’re inexperienced. It’s important to avoid situations that require them to drive in reverse.

Water and snow. Most municipalities will require a professional engineer to create a stormwater-management plan. For larger sites, this often involves a retention pond at the property's lowest point. It’s important to account for water early in the process to ensure your layout accommodates necessary drainage.

In northern climates, it’s also important to consider where snow can be plowed to avoid causing traffic or drainage issues. While fortress-style layouts may be popular in southern states, they can lead to snow-related problems in the north. If you have doors facing north in snowy regions, ensure the roof pitches are designed to divert water away from the north side. This strategy reduces the risk of doors freezing shut.

Office. It's vital to decide early in your planning process whether you’ll include a self-storage management office or kiosk, either immediately or in a future phase. If you plan to incorporate these features, make sure they’re accessible from the public side of your gate.

The Concept Drawing

Once you have a comprehensive understanding of the above characteristics and constraints, it’s time to start sketching out your self-storage site plan. Begin with traffic flow and building position. My preferred approach is to print out the land survey or a screenshot of Google’s satellite view and manually draw my ideas. I start by specifying driveway and building dimensions as accurately as possible, considering all the pertinent factors.

Most drive-up self-storage facilities include rows of similar buildings. For enhanced security, it's advisable to align the structures perpendicular to the main road. This gives passing cars a clear view between the buildings, which can discourage undesirable activities.

Many self-storage developers take a phased approach to building. If you go this route and choose to build out only a small portion of the facility to start, you must still create a master plan for the entire property. This ensures that the first phase supports efficient traffic flow in future ones and the stormwater system is capable of accommodating growth. It also allows for the strategic placement of underground conduits to support subsequent development. Additionally, you’ll need to decide on roof pitch and choose between gable or lean-to design.

With your concept drawing in hand, you’ve reached the stage where the assistance of a civil engineer is necessary. While your sketch is useful for rough estimates, you must invest in professional site design before soliciting formal bids from contractors.

The Best Unit Mix

Once you’ve determined the general building footprint, the composition of your unit mix will begin to come into focus. However, this is both art and science. You’ll want to lean on the intelligence revealed in your feasibility study to make smart decisions.

Local demographics can provide a starting point. In rural or suburban areas, larger self-storage spaces will be in higher demand. Customers who live in small homes, student housing, apartments or mobile homes tend to use storage more frequently but prefer smaller units. In places with high humidity or in more affluent areas, climate-controlled space will be more popular. Regions where boating and camping are prevalent will see a greater need for large boat/RV-storage units, especially if customers face restrictions on outdoor parking at their own homes.

It’s also important to analyze your competition. Understanding which unit types are over or under supplied can help you identify what’s needed in the market. Secret shopping and reviewing competitor websites can offer insight to the current landscape. A significant advantage of online rentals is it enables you to quickly see which units are sold out or discounted at a particular facility; however, be aware that demand for storage can be seasonal, with winter typically being slower than summer.

Once you’ve sketched out a rough unit-mix plan, there are ways to fine-tune it. To increase the number of smaller units, consider incorporating 5-by-10 or 10-by-10 units at the ends of your buildings. For buildings with interior hallways, you can adjust the mix by modifying the number of hallways.

Building a new self-storage facility requires significant time and investment in planning. However, when laid out properly with a well-researched unit mix, it should yield the reward of a well-designed facility that’ll provide returns for decades to come.

Steve Hajewski is regional manager for Trachte Building Systems, which designs, manufactures and erects a full line of pre-engineered and customized steel self-storage systems, including single- and multi-story, portable storage, interior partition and corridor, and canopy boat/RV. He’s also a partner of three facilities in Wisconsin and a frequent contributor on Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community. For more information, call 800.356.5824.

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