Simply Self Storage President Buys 5 A+ Storage Facilities in Tennessee for $33.6M

Kurt O’Brien, president of Florida-based Simply Self Storage (SSS), recently purchased five facilities in the greater Nashville, Tenn., area from A+ Storage of Tennessee LLC for $33.6 million. The properties—located in Clarksville, Franklin, Gallatin, Hendersonville and Hermitage—will be managed by SSS.

The portfolio encompasses 346,264 rentable square feet of storage space and 2,800 units. The sale did not include A+ Storage’s flagship facility and corporate headquarters in the Gulch area of downtown Nashville. All of the properties were developed between 2004 and 2009.

O’Brien and the seller, A+ Storage founder Tommy Pierce, were represented in the transaction by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The brokers were Michael Mele, senior vice president of investments in the company’s Tampa, Fla., office, and Anne Williams, senior associate in the firm’s Memphis, Tenn., office.

“This was the first time in the last eight years that a self-storage investment opportunity of this size and quality had been available in middle Tennessee,” Mele said. “The portfolio was strategically aggregated by a private Nashville owner and operator who developed, managed and expanded the majority of the facilities during the recession. This is a testament to the strength of the self-storage business and the portfolio’s viability and growth potential.”

“The stars were lined up for this one,” Pierce added. “Interest rates remained low, the self-storage industry fared the recession well, and Nashville became one of the top 10 business and real estate markets in the country. The purchaser already has a national presence, and this acquisition allows it to establish a strong presence in Nashville with one transaction.”

Marcus & Millichap has more than 1,300 investment professionals in offices throughout the United States and Canada. The company closed more than 6,600 transactions last year with a value of approximately $24 billion.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Orlando, Fla., SSS owns or manages more than 120 self-storage facilities in 16 states.

Also founded in 2003, A+ Storage still operates seven facilities in Downtown Nashville, Fortress, La Vergne, Mt. Juliet/Providence, Murfreesboro, Nolensville, and Spring Hill/Columbia, Tenn.