Update 6/20/17 – City Line Capital has acquired Fort Knox Self Storage in Winston-Salem, N.C. The transaction was in partnership with CSG RE and marks the fifth storage facility City Line has purchased since its February launch. The property at 2550 Peters Creek Parkway comprises 68,562 rentable square feet in 625 units, according to a press release.
The facility features a mix of climate-controlled and traditional units, along with surface parking spaces. It was 91 percent occupied at the time of purchase. It’ll be rebranded under a new name and operated by third-party management firm Storage Asset Management, the release stated.
“We are excited to enter the Winston-Salem market and look forward to continuing our growth in the Carolinas,” Schontz said. “We plan to make several physical enhancements to the facility and look forward to continuing to deliver top-notch self-storage service to the tenants of this high-quality facility.”
In addition to permanent residents, the facility serves the student population from the area’s surrounding colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina School of Arts, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem University.
6/5/17 – City Line Capital LLC, a newly formed real estate investment firm specializing in self-storage assets, has acquired its first four properties. The company closed in March on a facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has added assets in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Texas in the last 30 days, according to a press release. Together, the sites comprise approximately 175,000 square feet in 1,600 units. They’ll all be operated by third-party management firms.
Among the purchases was Central Self Storage in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey, La., which was purchased from Pegasus Group. The facility at 2520 Destrehan Ave. comprises 57,464 square feet in 497 units. Built in 1985, the asset was fully renovated in 2013, according to a press release from JLL Capital Markets, the commercial real estate and finance firm that represented the seller in the transaction.
The Harvey property, about 10 miles south of New Orleans, includes one single-story building and a pair of two-story structures. The renovation converted 130 traditional units to climate-controlled spaces. Other improvements included a remodel of the management office, door replacements, the installation of an elevator and repainting, the JLL release stated. The property also features electronic access control, a 24-hour kiosk and fencing. Access to the facility is off Lapalco Boulevard, a four-lane thoroughfare with an estimated daily traffic count of 49,000 vehicles.
Pegasus was represented in the deal by JLL Managing Directors Steve Mellon and Brian Somoza as well as Greg Riera, senior vice president.
City Line has six other self-storage properties under purchase contracts totaling another 500,000 square feet, the release stated. The company was launched in February to acquire and manage self-storage assets across the United States. The group has said it intends to acquire $200 million in self-storage property this year.
“We look forward to building upon this success as we accelerate our level of growth to become recognized as one of the most active investors in this asset class,” said Alex Meshechok, managing partner of City Line and managing director of partner firm CSG RE.
JLL is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. Last year, the firm completed about $136 billion in finance transactions and sales acquisitions. The firm’s capital-markets team closed more than 1,400 deals in 2016, with a production volume of more than $56 billion.
Based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and founded in 1988, Pegasus Group is a real estate investment and management company specializing in self-storage. It owns and operates 49 self-storage facilities in 10 states under the Central Self-Storage brand.
Based in Philadelphia, City Line was launched by former brokers Matt Hardiman, Rick Schontz and Matt Weckesser in partnership with CSG RE, the real estate acquisition arm of New York investment bank CSG Partners LLC. The company’s acquisition criteria include assets in primary and secondary markets of at least 40,000 square feet, though smaller properties may be considered if they offer expansion opportunities, according to the company website.
