Self-storage owner Harold Steve is under investigation by officials in Robeson Township, Pa., and Berks County for dumping several truckloads of sediment from an excavated property onto a forested tract next to his Gibraltar Self Storage facility. A group of neighboring residents complained about the dumping activity last month.

Steve told the source he dumped 20 to 30 loads of dirt during a two-week period but believed it wouldnt be an issue because he owns the land. As far as I know, I have not done anything wrong, he said.

A Berks County Conservation District investigation concluded Steve was in violation of not having an onsite best-management practice plan or an erosion and sediment-control plan for the mounds of dirt, the source reported. Eric Konzelmann, a resource conservationist for the district, said Steves sediment mounds exceed the state limit of 5,000 square feet of earth disturbance or displaced soil that has not sprouted vegetation without a plan in place.

The plans are required in such instances to help prevent runoff from contaminating nearby waterways. The land Steve used is in the vicinity of a tributary of Schuylkill River, Konzelmann said.

Steve will have seven days from when he receives the county districts report to cover the sediment piles and 30 days to produce a plan to prevent runoff, according to the source. Steve said he was unaware his land had been inspected. The self-storage property, 3700 Main St., is off of Route 724 in Birdsboro, Pa.

The township has not concluded its investigation, but manager Thomas Keim said he believes a vehicle-access lane bulldozed by Steve to give dump trucks access to his land was not authorized by any permits.

I still dont believe Im doing anything wrong, but if I am, Ill fix it, Steve said.

Konzelmann also told the source he suspects the land on which the sediment was dumped may be federally protected wetlands. Such a determination would be made by the states Department of Environmental Protection, but a complaint would have to be submitted to trigger an investigation.

If it is determined the land is protected, Steve would likely have to get a permit for the sediment or remove it, Konzelmann said.

CubeSmart, a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), has purchased a 36-property self-storage portfolio with locations in North Carolina and Texas from Private Mini Storage Inc. for $326.2 million. The portfolio encompasses 2.1 million rentable square feet, with 28 facilities in Houston; seven in Austin, Texas; and one in Charlotte, N.C.

CubeSmart completed the acquisition through a newly formed joint venture with an affiliate of Heitman LLC for an aggregate purchase price of $315.7 million. Each contributed capital equal to their 50 percent ownership in the venture. The venture intends to pursue debt financing subsequent to closing and targeting overall leverage levels at 30 percent to 45 percent of cost, considering secured and unsecured debt. The remaining facility, in Houston, was purchased by CubeSmart for $10.5 million.

The overall occupancy for the portfolio was 88 percent at the time of sale. All three markets are characterized by strong economies with robust job expansion, a healthy housing market and high-growth suburbs, supporting the fundamentals of the transaction, according to representatives from Clarion Partners LLC, a real estate investment firm and partner to Private Mini Storage.

Our initial objective in assembling this portfolio was to acquire high-quality assets in desirable growth areas along highly visible traffic corridors, and to add value by expanding the assets, modifying unit mixes, improving management and executing some ground-up development, said Jason Glasser, a senior associate at Clarion Partners. We have achieved our objectives, stabilized the assets, and are now taking advantage of solid market fundamentals to sell the portfolio to operators in the sector.

Aaron Swerdlin, an executive managing director in the Houston office of NGKF Capital Markets, a group within commercial real estate advisory firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, was engaged to advise Clarion Partners and Private Mini Storage in the transaction.

This truly was one of the most unique portfolio opportunities in the self-storage space Ive ever seen, Swerdlin said. The geographic concentration in Austin and Houston, two of the best economies in the country, really accentuated the value of the high-quality self-storage portfolio that Clarion and Private Mini had developed and assembled.

Headquartered in New York, Clarion Partners has been a real estate investment manager for more than 30 years. The firm has offices in major markets throughout the United States as well as in London and São Paulo, Brazil, with a presence in Mexico. With $28.6 billion in total assets under management, the company has more than 200 institutional investors.

Based in Houston and founded in 1986, Private Mini Storage operates 41 facilities in North Carolina and Texas, according to the Inside Self-Storage 2013 Top-Operators List . The portfolio encompasses 3 million square feet of storage space and more than 20,000 units.

NGKF is a commercial real estate advisory firm. Together with its affiliates and London-based partner Knight Frank, the company employs more than 12,000 professionals, operating from more than 320 offices in established and emerging property markets on five continents.

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.

Update 12/12/13 The William Warren Group (WWG) has formally announced its first StorQuest Self Storage Florida acquisition. The 66,744-square-foot facility at 2830 Manatee Ave. E. in Bradenton was purchased last month through an affiliate of WWG. It was under WWG management.

The William Warren Group has many facilities on our management platform, and we always hope it will one day turn into a purchase opportunity to help expand the StorQuest brand, said Bill Hobin, president and CEO.

In April, WWG acquired a management portfolio of 18 locations in Florida and South Carolina. The company previously said the expansion included 23 properties. The Two Rivers facility in Bradenton was selected to become the first StorQuest Florida location. The company is actively working with other property owners to rebrand their facilities as StorQuest, officials said in a press release.

Were excited about expanding the brand from a regional to a national focus, said Tim Hobin, senior vice president. The Two Rivers property was a perfect fit for our first East Coast acquisition due to its high-quality of construction, high-traffic location and excellent demographics.

---

11/13/13 The William Warren Group (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage brand, has expanded its self-storage footprint in Florida. 2830 Manatee SP LLC, a company connected to principals at WWG, reportedly purchased a storage facility in Bradenton, Fla., for $4.2 million.

WWG announced in April it was expanding its operation to the Southeast, adding 23 storage properties in Florida and South Carolina and opening a regional office in Tampa, Fla. However, the only Florida property currently listed on StorQuests website is the Bradenton location at 2830 Manatee Ave. E.

The purchasing company, which carries the locations address in its name, is managed by WWG principals Tim Hobin, William Hobin and Clark Porter, according to CorporationWiki.com. William Hobin is president and CEO of WWG. Porter is WWGs senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Tim Hobin is a senior vice president.

The property was previously listed with an address at 524 29th St E., which is on the east side of the site running perpendicular to Manatee Avenue. Built in 2003, the self-storage facility comprises 79,262 square feet on 4.4 acres. 2830 Manatee SP acquired the property from Two Rivers Development Corp. using a $3 million mortgage from Bank of America, according to the source.

Based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG develops, acquires and operates self-storage assets in major U.S. metropolitan markets. Up to now, its portfolio was concentrated primarily in California, with additional properties in Arizona, Colorado and Hawaii. The companys long-term perspective for growing the StorQuest brand focuses on assets that offer growing cash flow and capital-appreciation opportunities.

SMD Software Inc., provider of SiteLink property-management software for self-storage and portable-storage operations, recently participated in the Brazilian Self Storage Group's inaugural industry tradeshow and is actively working to expand its presence in Central and South America. SMD was the main sponsor at Expo 2013, which took place in São Paulo, Brazil, in early November.

As part of the event, the company demonstrated the Portuguese and Spanish versions of its software, complete with regional settings, the Boleto payment system and tax laws, to more than 250 attendees, according to a company press release. Existing SiteLink users from countries including Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay visited extensively with SMD's representative.

With more than 11,000 installations worldwide, SiteLink understands the needs of self-storage operators outside of the United States, said Markus Hecker, chief operating officer. SiteLink is a natural fit for operators around the world because it works with local settings, time zones, tax systems and laws. Our extended customer-service hours and multi-lingual, in-house support staff has been able to support clients everywhere."

SiteLink is positioned to expand its international presence, according to the release. Our global community of self-storage operators is an important part of our growth, Hecker said.

Established in 1996, SiteLink has more than 11,000 installations worldwide. The software includes enterprise-level features including revenue management, built-in CRM (customer relationship management), e-mail and text messaging. Regular, automatic updates deliver integrations with technology partners like RPOST, INSOMNIAC and DocuSign. Web Edition also integrates with platforms like smart phones, websites, call centers, marketing services and central mail providers at no additional charge.

More information about Expo 2013 can be read here.

Compass Self Storage LLC and Amsdell Group LLC, separate affiliates of the Amsdell family of companies, have purchased a self-storage property in Roseville, Mich., the Compass brand's 40th property in total and its 10th in the state. The acquisition also marks the company's 11th self-storage purchase in 2013.

Located at 29500 Hayes Road, the facility comprises  more than 77,000 net rentable square feet and will be rebranded under the Compass name. It features drive-up unit access, climate control, digital surveillance, online payment options, and a full line of moving and packing supplies.

"We are thrilled to expand our footprint in the Greater Detroit market to include this location in Roseville," said Todd Amsdell, president. Company growth is projected to continue in 2014 with the acquisition and development of quality storage properties in select markets, according to a company press release.

Headquartered in Cleveland, the Amsdell Cos. draws its roots from the family-owned construction company founded in 1928. Since its inception, the company has been active in several billions of dollars of real estate ventures, with a primary focus on self-storage. It has owned and operated more than 500 storage centers under various trade names in more than 27 states. It currently owns and operates properties in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Birchwood Heights Equity Corp., a Canada-based real estate firm, recently purchased a Stock-N-Lock Self Storage facility in Wyoming, Mich. The 62,000-square-foot facility was listed for $2.4 million, but a bidding war resulted in a selling price that was much higher, according to officials from Pogoda Cos., which brokered the sale.

Birchwood, based in Kelowna, British Columbia, plans to expand the 436-unit facility, which is located on a major thoroughfare about 12 miles south of Grand Rapids, Pogoda officials said in a press release. The Wyoming facility is the fourth Michigan self-storage property purchased by Birchwood.

Pogoda represented the buyer and seller in the deal. The facility was owned by Stock-N-Lock Self Storage of Wyoming, Mich. Pogoda also sold a vacant lot next door to the self-storage facility in a separate transaction.

We were not really surprised by the demand for this property, said Maurice Pogoda, president of Pogoda Cos. The market has been building to a frenzy all year long, with buyers bidding up properties and paying prices we have never seen in Michigan.

Based in Farmington Hills, Mich., Pogoda Cos. is a self-storage operator and broker with 38 facilities and approximately 3 million square feet of self-storage space in Michigan and Ohio. The firm provides brokerage, management, investment and consulting services to the self-storage industry through its Pogoda Group Inc. and Pogoda Management Co. divisions.

Uncle Bobs Self Storage, a national provider with more than 450 locations nationwide, is nearly doubling the storage capacity at its facility in North Fort Myers, Fla. The operator is adding a 32,000-square-foot, air-conditioned building that will back up to an existing 36,000-square foot building. The project is part of a recent wave of self-storage construction in the state, according to Lewis Pollack, president of the Florida Self Storage Association.

Sovran Self Storage Inc., the parent company of Uncle Bobs, purchased the property on North Tamiami Trail in 2010 for $151,000, according to the source. We started looking at this parcel of land in 2008 and 2009. We closed in 2010, but we didnt jump to develop it, said Diane Piegza, vice president for corporate communications for Sovran, noting that market conditions have improved.

Sovran expects the new addition to be open by early next year.

Pollack expects improvements in the residential construction market to further fuel self-storage business and new storage developments, he told the source. Three years ago there were zero [development projects]; last year there were probably four in the whole state, he said. This year there are probably 12 to 15.

Sovran is a real estate investment trust that acquires and manages self-storage facilities. It is one of the largest self-storage operators in the country, with facilities across 25 states. The company ranked No. 5 on the Inside Self-Storage 2013 Top-Operators List.

The national Self Storage Association (SSA) and Illinois Self Storage Association (ISSA) are working with storage operators in the Village of River Grove, Ill., to combat a 4 percent sales-tax hike that goes into affect Jan. 1. The SSA contends the industry was not given an opportunity to comment on the tax prior to the measure being adopted in June. Operators Public Storage Inc. and The Lock Up Self Storage were first notified of the tax change when they received essentially an invoice and a demand to begin administering the tax, SSA officials said.

River Grove is the third Illinois town in the last five years to try to raise sales tax on self-storage, although the previous two attempts ultimately were not implemented, SSA officials said. The SSA does not typically have the resources to battle local issues, but the state of Illinois' hands-off home rule structure has provided significant latitude to small towns, or villages in this case, the association said in its weekly e-mail newsletter.

The SSA, ISSA and affected self-storage operators have contacted River Grove officials to try to initiate a dialogue over the issue.

The town implemented a 1 percent sales tax increase this year that went into effect July 1. The combined sales tax rate in River Grove is 10 percent. In May, the Illinois Department of Revenue issued a sales-tax rate-change summary for businesses in affected jurisdictions through an Informational Bulletin.

By promoting new sources of retail sales-tax revenue, we expect to alleviate the tax burden on our many residential property owners, town officials said in an economic-development statement on the River Grove website.

Based in Chicago, The Lock Up currently operates 13 self-storage facilities in Illinois and has 29 locations in eight states comprising more than 1.6 million square feet.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in more than 2,110 self-storage facilities in 38 states with approximately 135 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 188 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 10 million net rentable square feet.

ISSA provides members government advocacy, education and business services, including a legal-information service and credit card processing.