National Storage Affiliates Trust Expands Florida Self-Storage Footprint With Acquisition

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT), a Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in self-storage, continues to expand its presence in Florida. The company acquired a 44,000-square-foot storage property in Manatee County, Fla., last month through its affiliate NSA Property Holdings LLC, according to the source. The $5.5 million purchase is on the southwest corner of State Road 64 and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. The seller was Lakewood Ranch Express Storage LLC, an affiliate of Hide-Away Storage, which is an NSAT participating regional operator (PRO).

Hide-Away developed the self-storage facility after it acquired the 3-arce parcel two years ago from Pennsylvania-based Portal Crossing RT 64 LLC for $1.4 million, the source reported. Sarasota, Fla.-based Hide-Away Storage Services Inc. became NSAT’s seventh PRO a year ago. It contributed its 14 properties comprising about 1 million rentable square feet to the REIT’s self-storage portfolio for approximately $115 million.

Hide-Away founder Steve Wilson told the source in October that the company would continue to work on its growth alongside NSAT’s national expansion.

In March, NSAT signed an agreement to add Florida-based Personal Mini Storage as the REIT’s eighth PRO. Personal Mini manages 40 facilities in mid-Florida comprising approximately 2.7 million rentable square feet.

In November 2016, NSAT purchased several Florida self-storage facilities, including Lakewood Storage in Bradenton, Fla., for $7.6 million from Michael E. Edwards, owner of Manatee River Groves Inc. The company also bought a 26-property portfolio from Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors LLC, an investment-management firm, that included five facilities in Florida.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colo., NSAT is a self-administered and -managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas throughout the United States. The company has ownership interest in 456 storage facilities in 23 states. Its portfolio comprises approximately 28 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.