Update 9/17/18 – Commercial is expanding its self-storage facility in Gahanna, Ohio, near Columbus. Since opening in June with a single building, the company has added four storage structures. It intends to invest another $4.4 million in expansion, which includes completion of two new buildings comprising 14,000 square feet and the acquisition of more land for which it has a purchase agreement, according to the source.
Additional expansion scheduled for the spring will add another 70,000 square feet to the property at 1509 Blatt Blvd. When fully built out, the facility will comprise 105,000 square feet in 14 buildings. The completed structures already in operation are at 90 percent occupancy, the source reported.
“We look at where we can go next with similar demographics, and we couldn’t find anyone in Columbus that had anyth8ing like [our business model], so we found Columbus attractive,” Sapp said.
6/19/18 – Eight years after launching Commercial Self Storage in Indianapolis, which offers storage space designed for business-related customers, owners Jim and Theresa Sapp are expanding. The couple opened two new facilities in Columbus and Greenwood, Ohio, this year and plan to develop three more properties—in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and Noblesville, Ind.—within the next 12 months, according to the source.
The Sapps built their first facility in 2010 in the Castleton area of Indianapolis. In addition to storage, it provides showroom space, office rentals, forklift use, and access to other amenities including electricity, interior lighting and utilities as part of rent. That location, which started with two buildings on 6.5 acres, has grown to nine buildings, each at 100 percent occupancy, the source reported.
Success has come quickly to the Greenwood property, which opened with seven buildings comprising 70,000 square feet. With occupancy at 92 percent in less than a year, Commercial is planning to add another 90,000 square feet.
“Our niche is helping businesses with logistics and storage; and there’s a big demand because after the recession, people got smarter and [started] looking for smaller warehouses,” Jim Sapp told the source.
Commercial locations offer units from 300 to 3,000 square feet, with rates averaging around $14 per square foot, Sapp said. Approximately 40 percent of the company’s tenants are large businesses, with the remainder comprised of well-established small firms and startups. Mattress maker Crash Beds LLC pays about $2,500 per month for 1,800 square feet of space that includes a small showroom and enough room to manufacture, store and ship its products, the source reported.
In addition to its immediate projects, Commercial is also looking for expansion opportunities in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.
Source:
Columbus Business First, Indianapolis Firm Adding to Unique Self-Storage Concept in Gahanna
Indianapolis Business Journal, Longtime Entrepreneur Sets Sights on Storage Industry