A joint venture between Harbert U.S. Real Estate Fund IV L.P. (HUSREF IV) and self-storage real estate investment trust W. P. Carey Inc. has sold a large self-storage portfolio consisting of 20 facilities across nine states. The properties comprise 1.4 million net rentable square feet and 12,561 storage units. As of Sept. 30, the average occupancy for the portfolio was 85 percent, officials said in a press release.

HUSREF IV and W. P. Carey formed a joint venture in 2009 with the intent to acquire a portfolio of unstable properties, stabilize them and then sell to a strategic buyer, officials said. In January 2009, the joint venture purchased 13 self-storage facilities in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio and Texas in a single transaction. In 2010, the companies acquired seven more facilities in four transactions that included five assets in Chicago, one in Arkansas and one in Florida. The properties were owned by the joint venture and managed by third-party managers.

"We are very pleased with the execution of the portfolio roll-up strategy," said Travis Pritchett, managing director of HUSREF IV. "We entered the self-storage sector as a defensive play in 2009. We liked the risk profile and the timing but needed the right operating partner to execute. W. P. Carey delivered that expertise, and we are very pleased with the result."

"[We] are very pleased with the performance of this joint venture with Harbert, added Anne Coolidge Taylor, managing director of W. P. Carey. Through active management, we were able to grow net operating income for the portfolio and achieve a favorable exit."

HUSREF IV, the majority owner in the joint venture, is a fully invested fund actively selling properties as they stabilize. It is a sponsored fund under Harbert Management Corp.s (HMC) Real Estate Group. HMC is actively seeking new acquisitions for Harbert United States Real Estate Fund V, L.P., a follow-on fund formed to invest in undervalued, fundamentally sound apartment, office, retail and industrial real estate assets.

New York-based W. P. Carey is a publicly traded REIT that oversees a global investment portfolio of approximately $15.8 billion. It provides companies worldwide with long-term sale leaseback and build-to-suit financing, and engages in other types of real estate-related investment, including self-storage.

Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust that operates self-storage properties under the SmartStop Self Storage brand name, has purchased nine facilities in Alabama, Tennessee and Texas for approximately $64 million. The properties comprise about 710,000 net rentable square feet in 5,200 storage units.

We targeted these self-storage facilities due to their high occupancy levels and solid locations, said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO. Both portfolios are an ideal fit for our growing brand and strategy, allowing for continued expansion in these markets.

The five Texas facilities, referred to by the company as the Southwest portfolio, comprise approximately 390,000 square feet in 2,800 units and were acquired for a total purchase price of about $27 million. The properties are:

• 810 S. Denton Tap Road, Coppell (740 units, 101,735 square feet)
• 1925 S. Bowie Drive, Weatherford (470 units, 61,995 square feet)
• 1712 W. Randol Mill Road, Arlington (445 units, 59,495 square feet)
• 5005 Andrews Highway, Midland (615 units, 92,820 square feet)
• 1904 W. Loop 250 N., Midland (535 units, 75,800 square feet)

The other four properties, referred to by the company as the Southeast portfolio, comprise approximately 320,000 square feet in 2,400 units and were acquired for a total purchase price of about $37 million. The properties are:

• 4245 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, Ala. (540 units, 65,400 square feet)
• 19668-B Hwy 11 E., Lenoir City, Tenn. (650 units, 102,200 square feet)
• 735 Ebenezer Road, Knoxville, Tenn. (680 units, 78,500 square feet)
• 1540 Lovell Road, Knoxville, Tenn. (510 units, 74,400 square feet)

Strategic Storage Trusts entire portfolio includes more than 120 facilities in 17 states and Canada that are branded as SmartStop Self Storage. The portfolio includes approximately 77,000 self-storage units and 10.2 million square feet of rentable storage space.

Ronald Havner, chairman and CEO of self-storage real estate investment trust Public Storage Inc., has been elected as chair for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). Havner will take the place of retiring 2013 Chair W. Edward Walter, president and CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts, at a time when self-storage has consistently been among the top-performing industry REITs.

I am honored to serve as NAREITs chair for 2014, Havner said. I am looking forward to building on the strong foundation established by Ed Walter and all of the prior NAREIT chairs who have served the REIT industry so well.

In addition to Havner, NAREIT officers for 2014 include David J. Neithercut, president and CEO of Equity Residential (first vice chair); David B. Henry, vice chairman, president and CEO of Kimco Realty Corp. (second vice chair); and Edward J. Fritsch, president and CEO of Highwoods Properties Inc. (treasurer). All NAREIT officers also serve on the associations executive board. NAREIT also named members to its 2014 executive board and board of governors.

Havner will moderate a two-hour panel discussion titled 20 Years Later: What's Ahead for REITs, as part of the REITWorld 2013 convention in San Francisco this week. The lunch session is scheduled for noon tomorrow.

NAREIT also released a market update last week revealing the performance of several REIT sectors, including self-storage. Through the first 10 months of the year, self-storage ranked third among U.S. REIT market sectors. The industry was up 20.91 percent through October, trailing only commercial-financing mortgage REITs (26.02 percent total return) and lodging/resorts, which was up 23.59 percent. As a sector, self-storage posted a 19.94 percent total return last year, down from 35.22 percent in 2011.

Taken as a whole, U.S. REIT stocks underperformed the S&P 500 in October and for the first 10 months of the year, according to NAREIT. The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index, which includes both equity and mortgage REITs, delivered a 4.06 percent gain in October, while the S&P 500 was up 4.6 percent. Through October, the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index gained 7.49 percent compared to the S&P 500s 25.3 percent gain.

FTSE is an independent company owned jointly by The Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange. The Index Series presents investors with a comprehensive family of real estate investment trust performance indexes spanning the commercial real estate space across the U.S. economy, offering exposure to all investment and property sectors.

NAREIT is the representative voice for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies.

Uncle Bobs Self Storage, a national self-storage provider with more than 450 locations nationwide, has opened a new property at 890 Chattahoochee Ave. in Atlanta on behalf of Regis Investments. The three-story, 67,000-square-foot building will serve consumers of the Buckhead and Midtown markets. It includes 600 climate-controlled units and features 24-hour digital camera surveillance, coded gate access and free Wi-Fi.

After many months of construction, we are eager to open our doors, said Bruce Weiner, owner of Regis Investments. We were quite impressed with the Uncle Bobs management team, so branding our property as Uncle Bobs gives us great comfort that our customers will be well provided for.

The property was developed by industry veteran John Colclough of The Self Storage Group. The general contractor was Wes Mitcham of WLM Contracting.

We are equally excited about our new partnership with Regis Investments and the opportunity to manage this newly built property, said Philip Wilfong, area manager for Uncle Bobs. We believe in taking an active role in the communities in which we serve, and we look forward to continuing that tradition." The company plans a grand-opening event sometime in early 2014.

Uncle Bobs is owned by Sovran Self Storage Inc., a real estate investment trust that acquires and manages self-storage facilities. It is one of the largest self-storage companies in the country, with more than 450 locations across 25 states. The company currently has 22 locations in the greater Atlanta area.

Self-storage real estate investment trust CubeSmart recently sold a facility at 2700 Poplar Ave. in Memphis, Tenn., for $7.9 million. The company sold the 119,085-square-foot, Class C storage facility to WCP/DSSH Holdings 16 LLC, an affiliate of Emeryville, Calif.-based Devon Self Storage Holdings LLC.

Built in 1966, the multi-building facility sits on 9.2 acres along the north side of Poplar Avenue at its intersection with Collins Street. The Shelby County Assessor of Propertys 2013 appraisal is $4.5 million.

The sale follows last months flurry of transactions in which CubeSmart sold 10 local storage facilities to affiliates of Devon Self Storage Holdings. The REIT sold the facilities in nine separate Oct. 15 warranty deeds for a combined total of $31.3 million.

Based in Wayne, Pa., CubeSmart owns or manages 518 self-storage facilities across the United States and operates the CubeSmart Network, which consists of more than 700 additional self-storage facilities.

Effective Nov. 30, John Bilton will transition out of his position as vice president of business development and client services for Centershift Inc., a provider of self-storage management software. Bilton plans to move forward and apply his years of experience in other endeavors, according to a company press release. He has worked for Centershift for five years.

Johns sales vision and ability to build mutually beneficial business partnerships were instrumental in growing Centershift market share, said James Hafen, president and CEO. We certainly wish him all the best in the future.

Based in Salt Lake City, Centershift provides Web-based rental-management software for self-storage operations. The company's Store Enterprise and Advantage applications are designed for integration with websites, call centers, corporate offices and other business systems.

Secure Self Storage, which operates facilities in Canada and the eastern United States, is taking advantage of Ontario, Canadas Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) Program to install solar panels on one of its Mississauga, Ontario, locations in 2014. The self-storage operator  recently completed a solar-panel installation at its Rehoboth Beach, Del., facility and plans to  add the green initiative to its other properties.

Launched in 2009 by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and enabled by the Green Energy and Green Economy Act of 2009, the FIT Program encourages and promotes greater use of renewable energy sources including on-shore wind, waterpower, renewable biomass, biogas, landfill gas and solar photovoltaic for electricity-generating projects in the province.

The solar panels will be attached with a clamping system to the facilitys rooftop, and an inverter will be wired to the panels. The solar-generated power will be fed into Ontarios electrical grid. A metering system calculates and tracks hydro production through the year, with Secure Self Storage receiving a monthly payment from OPA for the electricity it generates.

We love the fact that we will generate green electricity not only for ourselves but for our neighbors as well, said Don Bannister, regional manager for Secure Self Storage in the Toronto area.

In addition to its two Mississauga locations, Secure Self Storage operates one facility in North York, Ontario. It also has facilities in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C.

A development permit application for AAA Self Storage Depot Inc. in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, was approved by city council members on Oct. 21. The four-story self-storage facility at 20986 56 Ave. will encompass 50,077 square feet. The site is currently being used for parking and long-term vehicle storage.

Although the development was approved, several concerns were raised during the council meeting with regard to nearby watermarks, flight patterns and noise pollution. Darren Cruickshanks, a design manager with Krahn Engineering Ltd., told council members the development will not affect any of the nearby creeks or rivers, including a tributary that originates at a culvert passing under 56th Avenue.

Due to the site's proximity to the Nicokmekl River, a Qualified Environmental Professional completed an assessment of the proposed development to comply with the Riparian Area Regulation and determine setbacks from the adjacent watercourse. The city typically requires a setback between 15 feet and 30 feet any time a development is near a watermark. However, because the lot will be paved and contained within the asphalt area, it was waived, according to Cruickshanks. In addition, the development will not disturb the areas natural vegetation, he said.

The developer also met with representatives from nearby Langley Regional Airport to address the possible disruption of flight patterns due to the facilitys height. Cruickshanks said the outdated covenants that prohibited construction over a certain height have been rewritten.

Residents shared their concerns with council members regarding noise pollution during construction and the limited number of parking spaces. Construction is expected to last eight to 10 months. Cruickshanks assured council members that once construction was completed, there would be little noise coming from the facility.

Resident Paul Albrecht asked if the 29 off-street parking spaces would be sufficient for the facility. Because the city has no specific parking requirements for self-storage facilities, Cruickshanks said the standard warehouse requirement from the zoning bylaw were followed.

B² Interactive, a firm specializing in Internet marketing, website design and software development for the self-storage industry, recently welcomed four new employees to its online-marketing, content and creative teams. Eric Brandt and Raechel Dennis joined the company as Internet-marketing associates. Ryan Kholousi has been named a graphic designer, and Bailey Hemphill is the companys new content creator/editor.

Brandt has a bachelors degree in business marketing with minors in business management and Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to working for B² Interactive, he was a marketing intern with Sandhills Publishing, where he was later hired full time as territory manager and marketing representative. Though marketing is his passion, he also loves hockey, which he has played competitively for nearly 20 years.

Dennis has a bachelors degree in advertising from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and loves project management. Previously, she worked as the operations lead in the production department of a sales company. She also volunteered for O STYLES, a creative organization dedicated to the fashion and beauty industry in Omaha, Neb., and served as the creative coordinator. Her hobbies include listening to music, exercising and reading.

Kholousi has a degree in graphic design from Metropolitan Community College. He chose to study graphic design because he has always loved painting and drawing and saw graphic design as a way to combine those loves with computers, according to a press release.

Hemphill has a bachelors degree in English with a language-studies concentration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Before joining B² Interactive, she interned for Omaha Publications, where she was hired after graduation as an assistant editor and Web-content editor. Hemphill loves writing and editing and also reviews movies every Friday for Q98.5s Pat & JT in the Morning.

Brandt and Dennis also recently received certifications for Google AdWords and Google Analytics. B² Interactive has five employees who have Google certifications.

Founded in Omaha, Neb., B² Interactive is an Internet marketing, search engine optimization and website development firm. Its co-founders have more than 15 years of experience in Web design, software development and Internet marketing. Together theyve worked in the design, operation and online promotion of hundreds of websites.