The first phase of a self-storage conversion project recently opened in Medford, Mass., a suburb north of Boston.

Phase I of the new Storage Bunker self-storage opened in February and consists of spaces ranging from 200 to 2,000 square feet. These large units are targeted at commercial tenants. Phase II, with units as small as 25 square feet and as large as 850 square feet, is scheduled to open in June. These units are designed to cater to residential and small-business tenants.

When finished, the facility will amass 50,000 square feet. Amenities will include climate-controlled units, computerized access, individual unit alarms, video surveillance and an onsite staff. In addition, the facility will rent office space ranging from 120 and 300 square feet.

The facility is located at 20 Sycamore Ave., about a half-mile from Interstate 93 and 4.5 miles north of downtown Boston. The Storage Bunker has two locations, with the original in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston.

In this issue:

• Building Boat and RV Storage: While construction has slowed, there's still a good market for building in this niche market.
• Trends in Boat/RV-Storage Construction: Solar canopies and larger spaces are two of the current styles for vehicle-storage units.
• Facility Spotlight: Temescal Canyon Storage: See how a boat/RV-storage facility in California is capitalizing on solar carports to generate revenue.
• Legal Considerations for Vehicle Storage: Self-storage operators who provide space for titled property such as boats and RVs must heed the unique legal risks involved.
• Marketing Boat and RV Storage: Customer referrals and partnerships with related businesses help boat/RV-storage operators reach their target market.
• Storage Condominiums: The developer and owner of a storage-condo facility talks about the current market and what lies ahead for this investment.
• Adding Portable Storage to a Self-Storage Business: Investment opportunities await for self-storage operators who want to add portable units to their established operation.

 

To better serve its members, the Florida Self Storage Association (FSSA) has recently launched several online initiatives and is now rolling out a comprehensive social-media marketing campaign including the Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn platforms.

Last year the FSSA unveiled a new website at floridassa.org with enhanced capabilities. In early 2011, the association partnered with SpareFoot to power a real-time reservation system on the FSSA website and drive new self-storage tenants to member facilities. All members are entitled to a free listing on the site with no charge for leads generated. To set up a listing, FSSA members should visit www.sparefoot.com/signup/fssa.html.

This year the FSSA also introduced free webinars to all of its members. Upcoming events include Why Are You Such Idiots? 10 Stupid Things Storage Owners Do to Shoot Themselves in the Foot, presented by PhoneSmart Chief Operating Officer Tron Jordheim on April 19. Details can be found at the FSSA website.

As part of its new social-media campaign, FSSA has created accounts on Twitter (FSSAssociation), Facebook (Florida-Self Storage-Association), YouTube (TheFSSA1) and LinkedIn. It plans to stream posts on its website and create topic-specific discussion feeds.

The FSSA is a non-profit organization of businesspeople involved in the self-storage industry in Florida. Its members include facility owners, operators, vendors, developers, investors, property managers and suppliers. Its mission is to ensure the stability and growth of the self-storage industry by providing a forum in which members may increase knowledge through educational opportunities, exchange information and promote an established unified voice."

The Westy Self Storage at 15 River Road in Chatham, N.J., will host a star-gazing fundraiser called "An Evening With the Stars" to benefit Senior Services of the Chathams from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on May 13. Senior Services of the Chathams is a non-profit organization that assists local senior citizens in areas such as transportation and support groups.

'The event's planned activities include observing the moon and Saturn by telescope, a Zumba Gold demonstration from a fitness instructor and a presentation on the Russian Space Program.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door. Several gifts will be raffled off, including a Blue Ray player, tennis-themed basket, pet-themed basket and gardening basket. In addition, Westy Self Storage will raffle off free self-storage and use of its truck, valued at $750.

Founded in 1990, Westy Self Storage is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. The company's portfolio of 16 facilities span the tri-state area of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.

Despite traffic concerns and some opposition, the Hastings Borough Council in Hastings, England, United Kingdom, has approved the construction of a 201-unit self-storage facility on the site of an old waste-vehicle depot.

The Curtis Storage site, which will be open six days per week, is projected to attract more than 13,500 automobiles per year to its access road, which already has some traffic congestion. In the past, the depot also attracted congestion.

The council considered forcing the developer to plant a tree line in front of the facility, but that measure was voted down. Instead, the council will ask the facility to build a concrete wall to screen the front doors of the units from the street.

Hastings is on the south coast of England, less than 70 miles south of London.

Stor-Age Self Storage, a property-management group based in Cape Town, South Africa, recently began development of a new self-storage facility in the Johannesburg central business district. The project is a conversion of an existing six-story building with 11,000 square meters. Once completed, the facility will comprise 8,000 square meters of storage space and 650 units.

"This represents the first of five new Stor-Age properties which will come on line in Gauteng this year, said CEO Gavin Lucas. The exceptional growth in the portfolio is the direct result of the strong trading performance of existing stores and a significant amount of groundwork completed by our property team in 2010. Our Johannesburg city center store is being developed after an in-depth due-diligence study was undertaken, which analyzed key property market fundamentals."

The new Stor-Age Johannesburg property enjoys prime exposure to the high-traffic M2 highway. Construction is being completed by the Madison Construction Group, with the internal system fit-out undertaken by Steel Self Storage Systems (4S4).

Stor-Age Self Storage is a member of the Stor-Age Group, which also comprises Steel Self Storage Systems, a supplier of roll-up doors and hallway partitions for the South African self-storage industry, and SASSI (SA Self Storage Investments), South Africas largest self-storage investment trust.

Stor-Age completed its first self-storage facility in Cape Town in late 2007. The company now has more than 225 million rand of property under management, and more than 350 million rand committed to development and acquisition.

Guardian Self Storage of 2839 Liberty Ave. in Pittsburgh will host an upcycling event from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, showcasing a wide variety of goods from architects and designers in the Strip District. The event is staged by ZeroLandfill, a group aimed at putting to better use materials that might otherwise go to waste such as glass, tile, shingles, stone and carpet. It expects to have 7,000 pounds of items at the storage site. Event attendees are reminded to bring bags or boxes for carrying away their picks.

Guardian Storage Solutions operates self-storage and mobile-storage facilities in Pittsburgh and Washington, Pa., and Westminster, Colo. The company has 14 sites. It is a member of the national, Pennsylvania and mobile self-storage associations as well as many other organizations.

AC Self Storage Solutions LLC of Newport Beach, Calif., a division of Axxcess Capital LLC, has acquired Rivergate Self Storage and Truck Rentals, a suburban Nashville, Tenn., self-storage facility in the city of Murfreesboro. The facility has 452 self-storage units, 17 parking spaces for RVs and boats, and about 62,000 of net rentable square feet. The price was not disclosed, but the facilty is designated as stabilized and cash-flowing.

AC Self Storage Solutions bought the facility from Jeff Davis, a Murfreesboro entrepreneur. Ashley Compton, first vice president of CB Richard Elliss Self-Storage Advisory Group in Nashville, Tenn., represented the seller. The buyer fast-tracked the all-cash acquisition, closing it 60 days after signing the purchase agreement. Though the acquisition was not financed initially, AC Self Storage plans to finance 60 percent to 65 percent of the property in a secondary transaction.

The facility is located at 1323 N.W. Broad St. and is approximately 80 percent occupied. Troy Downing, managing member of , said Rivergate met all of the company's acquisition criteria. Its well-occupied, situated in an established, in-fill location on a high-traffic road with good visibility and easy access. It is situated close to high-density housing and retail with a Kmart across the street and solid economic anchors, such as Middle Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee Medical Center, Downing said.

Downing also cited Murfreesboro's ranking as the fastest-growing city in Tennessee. The population grew by about 40,000 between 2000 and 2010, and census data is predicting a 14.4 percent gain over the next five years.

Downing pledges AC Self Storage will significantly enhance Rivergates benefits to storage customers by adding a call center, longer hours, content insurance coverage, and more frequent and creative marketing campaigns. He also said the operator will provide institutional level management and oversight of the facility. The name and Internet address will remain the same, rivergateselfstorage.com, but the website will now accept monthly payments.

Rivergate will be managed by Westport Properties Inc., a national self-storage operator-manager of approximately 40 facilities. The facility also has a two-bedroom apartment to house an onsite manager.

Downing added AC Self Storage Solutions is looking to acquire other stabilized, cash-flow-positive self-storage facilities in the Southeast and Southwest United States. Our primary focus is the Sunbelt, but as cash buyers, we will look at the right opportunity, regardless of where its located, he said.

AC Self Storage Solutions is a joint venture between Axxcess Capital Ventures and Specialized Storage Management Holdings LLC.

Police in Harrisburg, Pa., have come under scrutiny by the local media regarding the departments practice of storing evidence at a local self-storage facility.

Earlier in the week, CBS 21 News reported police and prosecutors were unable to retrieve evidence from a rented self-storage unit at Capital Storage because the city hadnt paid the storage bill.

The evidence needed was for a drug case and aggravated assault case. A Dauphin County judge issued two subpoenas, forcing the storage operator to give the police department access to the unit.

According to a CBS 21 News source, the city hadnt paid the self-storage rent and had ignored past-due notices. The city later paid the past-due amount.

Harrisburg police would not comment on what was stored inside the unit. A regional director for Capital Storage told the source it rents several units to law enforcement.

City officials responded to CBS 21 News, and claimed the media outlets information was false. The city told CBS 21 News police had limited access because of a delay in paying the storage bill.