Morningstar Properties has formed a strategic joint venture with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital to focus on the acquisition, development and redevelopment of self-storage facilities primarily in the Carolinas.

March 12, 2007

2 Min Read
Morningstar Aligns With HSRE for Carolina Acquisitions, Development

Morningstar Properties, a national self-storage operator and developer, has formed a strategic joint venture with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital (HSRE), a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm, to focus on the acquisition, development and redevelopment of self-storage facilities primarily in the Carolinas. The venture was launched with the acquisition of three assets totaling approximately $13 million in the Carrboro/Chapel Hill, Charlotte and Fayetteville, N.C., markets.

The JV plans to develop and acquire a portfolio of assets valued at more than $200 million during the next three years. Morningstar's goal is to become one of the largest self-storage providers in the markets in which it operates. The properties will be operated under the Morningstar Mini-Storage brand.

"We are delighted about our new partnership with Harrison Street, said David Benson, president of Morningstar Properties. Together we plan to once again make Morningstar the premier household name in storage across the Southeast. Our home is the Carolinas, so it is appropriate that these new North Carolina stores will be the beachhead to re-establish our presence, our community support programs and, of course, our weekly readerboards!"

Headquartered in Matthews, N.C., Morningstar is a vertically integrated developer, builder and operator of specialty real estate types across the Southeast. Since 1981, it has developed and operated almost 70 self-storage projects totaling more than 5.5 million square feet. Prior to an asset sale in 2006, it was the largest storage operator in the Carolinas, with 63 properties in the market. For more information, visit www.mstarproperties.com.

"We are excited about this alliance with Morningstar Properties based on its superb track record, excellent management team and active transaction pipeline, said HSRE Principal Robert Mathias. The initial three acquisitions each have their own unique and compelling demand drivers, and we look forward to expanding our portfolio with David and his team."

HSRE's model is to provide equity capital at the property level to developers and operators in the specialty sectors of the real estate market. These sectors principally include self-storage, student housing, senior housing/assisted living, medical office/healthcare and related parking. The companys inaugural fund has already entered six strategic joint ventures and acquired or is in the process of developing more than 50 properties worth more than $300 million. For details, visit www.harrisonst.com.

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