Update 8/22/14 – A third self-storage facility in the Austin, Texas, area has been sold. Morningstar Properties LLC, which operates storage properties under the Morningstar Mini-Storage brand, recently acquired Key Storage near Mansfield Dam from local real estate firm Capella Commercial.
The four-story facility comprises 47,471 square feet in 424 storage units and will be rebranded under the Morningstar Mini-Storage name. The seller was represented by Bellomy & Co., a commercial real estate brokerage company focusing on the sale of self-storage, industrial, office and retail properties nationwide. It has offices in Austin, Houston and Lubbock, Texas.
Founded in North Carolina in 1981, Morningstar Properties is a vertically integrated developer, owner and operator of real estate products focused primarily on self-storage and marinas in the Southeast. The company has developed, acquired and operated more than 125 self-storage projects across the country, totaling more than 8.8 million square feet. It currently owns and operates 28 self-storage centers comprising more than 13,000 units in nine states, with most concentrated in the South. The company’s future growth is funded through Blue Doors Capital Partners, an affiliated private-equity fund designated for acquisition and development of self-storage centers.
8/19/14 – Two Austin, Texas, self-storage facilities recently changed hands in unrelated transactions. Self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) Extra Space Storage Inc. purchased Your Storage Solution, while Premier Storage Investors LLC acquired a AAA Self Storage location.
Premier is focused on self-storage acquisitions and developments within the top 40 U.S. metropolitan markets and has targeted the Texas cities of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio for growth, according to a company press release. “AAA Self Storage is located in one of the fastest growing cities in the country, and we are fortunate to plant our flag in the Austin market,” said Pete Williams, a company principal.
Based in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tenn., Premier has six additional properties under contract for an approximate purchase price of $30 million, according to the release. “We feel great about the diversity of our portfolio with the investments made or currently committed in Texas, New York, the Southwest, the Southeast and New England,” Williams said.
The latest acquisition by Extra Space comprises 78,225 square feet in 772 climate-controlled units. Built in 2009, the three-story building at 12506 N. Lamar Blvd. sits on 2.27 acres. Features include package-delivery services, video cameras, keycard access, fire sprinklers, two large elevators, two loading docks and wide concrete driveways around the perimeter of the building, according to an e-mailed press release issued by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, which brokered the deal. Marcus & Millichap did not identify Extra Space as the buyer, but the property is listed on the REIT’s website.
Brandon Karr, a senior associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth, Texas, office represented the buyer and seller. 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.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 1,071 self-storage properties in 35 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The company’s properties comprise approximately 715,000 units and 79 million square feet of rentable space.
