Abba Self Storage has completed a 20,000-square-foot expansion to its facility in Concord, Calif. The company added mostly larger units up to 15 by 35 feet to keep up with market demand and rental trends, according to the source. Jeff Smith, property manager, said customers are migrating toward the larger units.
The cost isnt really that much more for the bigger units, and it definitely makes it easier when storing household furniture, a car or boat, he said, adding that the larger units also have taller and wider doors for easier access. All our units are individually equipped with alarms and sprinkler systems as well as 24-hour monitoring.
Located near Highway 4 and Highway 242, the facility serves Californias East Bay, including the communities of Concord, Martinez, Pacheco, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek. The facility includes boat/RV and records storage.
Storage facilities have even gone after greater curb appeal and are no longer the neglected-looking buildings found in out of the way locations, company officials said in a press release. Many of the newer facilities are built with architectural details and designs that use to be reserved for high-end office space or apartment buildings.
The sponsor of a Louisiana bill that sought to impose a 4 percent sales tax on self-storage leases and other commercial services has withdrawn the measure, according to the national Self Storage Association (SSA). State Rep. Kirk Talbot apparently withdrew the bill yesterday during a Ways and Means Committee hearing.
The proposal (House Bill 610) was one of several tax-related bills sponsored by Talbot during the current legislative session. He is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, which has several members who strongly objected to Gov. Bobby Jindals plan to phase out the state personal income tax without measures to determine how the state would recover the lost revenue. Committee Chair Joel Robideaux indefinitely deferred several bills on Monday that would have phased out the tax over multiple years. Jindal shelved his own plan last week but called on lawmakers to propose a viable plan to eliminate the income tax.
Talbots tax-swap plan included reducing personal income taxes, while extending state sales tax to some services, such as self-storage, that are currently untaxed. He favors a plan that would drop the state income tax to a flat rate of 1.9 percent but also said this week he will not push for a comprehensive tax package or an independent repeal bill this year.
The sales tax bill was introduced on March 29 and referred to the Ways and Means Committee on April 8, but SSA officials credited the Louisiana Self Storage Association for quickly opposing the legislation. Former board chairs Lana Griffin and Kevin Langley were present during the committee hearing when the bill was withdrawn, according to the SSA.
Like many states, Louisiana is facing a budget deficit along with financial challenges in health care and higher education. Sales tax bills have also been introduced in Michigan and North Carolina, the SSA said.
A real estate developer plans to build 60,000 square feet of self-storage space and 9,000 square feet for retail businesses on a vacant lot in Cudahy, Wis. This week Ken Breunig received conceptual approval from the city Plan Commission to develop separate buildings on 5 acres south of the Lake Parkway and west of S. Pennsylvania Ave.
The self-storage facility still needs a conditional-use permit, which the commission will consider at its May 14 meeting. Breunig said he plans to begin construction this fall if the project is approved. The facility will be built on the back end of the parcel, he said, with the retail space built close to Pennsylvania Ave. He plans to try to obtain tenant commitments before starting construction on the retail space.
Breunig was able to proceed with the project after the Common Council unanimously voted on April 3 to eliminate the city's moratorium prohibiting the development of mini-storage buildings. He also operates Sunset Investors and E-Z Self-Storage, and has developed similar buildings in the Milwaukee area.
The William Warren Group Inc. (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage portfolio, has hired Gerald Valle as vice president of operations. Valle will be responsible for the performance of all operational department functions, including oversight of all regional vice presidents and district managers as well as all property-maintenance and call-center efficiencies. He will report directly to chief operating officer Kent Christensen.
Gerald brings a wealth of knowledge from his years as a storage-industry veteran, said WWG President and CEO Bill Hobin. Geralds proven skills in asset management and customer-service training will further strengthen our operational focus as we increase the number of self-storage facilities managed by WWG across the United States.
Valle has more than 24 years of experience in the self-storage industry. He previously served nine years as divisional vice president for Extra Space Storage, where he was instrumental in the creation of the companys call center. Valle also worked for 15 years at Public Storage, where he held multiple senior roles that ranged from district manager to regional vice president of operations.
Based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG develops, acquires and operates self-storage assets in Arizona, California, Colorado and Hawaii. The company was founded in 1994.
Update on 4/15/13 Members of the Woodmont Triangle Action Group recently voiced their approval for the proposed conversion, although some concerns were expressed about security and exclusivity to Bethesda residents. Some members also asked about including artwork in the spaces windows.
With the help of his attorneys, Jeff Randall also has written a Zoning Text Amendment that would allow a self-storage facility in a retail space downtown. The amendment includes a provision requiring an on-site loading dock, a feature Randalls DoubleTree facility already has. Randall believes the requirement will prevent other properties from building self-storage facilities in basements or first-floor spaces. He hopes to have the amendment presented before Montgomery County Planning Board.
A hotel owner has proposed a plan to convert a former yacht club into a self-storage facility in downtown Bethesda, Md. The DoubleTree by Hilton chain took over the hotel portion of the former Yacht Club of Bethesda in 2006, but other areas of the building remain unused. The self-storage facility would cater to residents living in neighboring high-rise buildings that do not have ample storage space.
Jeff Randall, vice president of asset management for hotel owner Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, envisions about 55, 50-square-foot storage units in the basement space of the structure. He came up with the idea after he moved into a nearby apartment building and wound up using a spare bedroom for storage. He estimated the units would probably fill up from just 10 percent of the 600 residents in his building alone.
Randall presented his idea last week to the Woodmont Triangle Acting Group (WTAG), a local organization of residents, business and development representatives and officials from the Bethesda Urban Partnership. The group advises Montgomery County land-use officials and lawmakers on issues affecting Bethesdas downtown district.
The hotel would not advertise the facility, Randall said. Instead, prospective tenants would learn about it through word-of-mouth. Customers would receive a keycard to the facility and be charged about $100 per month for a unit.
You might frown on self-storage in Bethesda, but I would say this is not your typical self-storage, Randall said, noting that other business ideas for the space, such as a restaurant, would likely prove too risky due to existing competition.
Encouraged by WTAG to move forward, Randall will seek a zoning change and approval from the Montgomery County Planning Board and the city council.
The FBI and local authorities on Saturday seized 20 weapons and a vehicle from a Gibson Self Storage unit in Seagoville, Texas, as part of an investigation into the murders of Kaufman County prosecutor Mark Hasse, District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia. Federal investigators will conduct ballistics tests on the weapons, which are similar to those used in the murders, according to news reports.
The unit was reportedly rented on behalf of Eric Williams, a former justice of the peace who is the chief suspect in the case. Williams was brought into custody on Saturday on the unrelated charge of allegedly making a terroristic threat. He is being held on $3 million bond but has not been charged in the murders. Investigators also searched Williams home and a nearby relatives residence.
In addition to the weapons, authorities seized a white Ford Crown Victoria sedan from the self-storage facility. The vehicle was allegedly purchased by Williams two months ago under a false name. Investigators have surveillance video of the car driving in the McLellands neighborhood on the day they were murdered, according to Dallas television station WFAA.
Williams was convicted last year for stealing three county-owned computers. Hasse and McLelland were the prosecutors in the case.
Self-storage operator Safeguard Properties LLC has settled a civil lawsuit with authorities in New York City who sued the company over counterfeit merchandise that was seized last summer from one of its facilities. Approximately 44,000 counterfeit trademarked goods and pirated video and audio recordings worth more than $550,000 were being stored and distributed by Safeguard tenants. Merchandise included pirated DVDs of movies like The Hunger Games and music from artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
As part of the settlement, Safeguard Properties agreed to adopt a code of best practices and include more stringent rules in its rental agreements with tenants. The new procedures include a requirement to report all suspected criminal activity to law enforcement and a tenant-lease requirement granting Safeguard access to units without prior notice.
Counterfeit goods not only rob legitimate businesses of customers, but the illegal activity often has a nexus to organized crime, said John Feinblatt, the citys chief policy adviser. The message to the self-storage industry is clear: You cant look the other way when criminals turn your storage facility into a warehouse for illegal activity.
Safeguard is pleased to have reached this agreement with the city of New York, said Allan Sweet, CEO of Safeguard Self Storage. Although Safeguard already had procedures in place which aimed to prevent illegal activity at our facilities, we agree that the new and comprehensive procedures in the Code of Best Practices should become the standard for our industry. We are pleased to be a partner with the city in creating this new standard.
As part of its ongoing efforts to combat counterfeiting, the city has expanded its scope to target self-storage facilities that provide safe harbor for counterfeit trademarked and unlicensed goods before they reach the hands of illegal retailers, officials said. As part of the settlement, Safeguard agreed to:
Headquartered in Atlanta, Safeguard Self Storage was founded in 1989 and today operates more than 60 facilities in Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The company is owned and operated by Morgan Stanleys Prime Property Fund.
This fun commercial from Stor-All Storage shows what you need to do when you get too much of a good thing! This video promotion focuses on the "the ideal storage conditions" at the company's wine-storage facilities ... for when you "can't drink it all." Seriously? That happens?
By Mark Beck
Its not always easy to know when its time to make a change to your self-storage brand because a brand takes time to develop. When results slowly decline, it can be agonizing to make a clean break from something youve spent years building, even when you know that something new is needed. That was the conclusion Scott McLain and the team at the Amoroso Cos. came to when they realized their six stores, all flying a different brand flag, needed a new direction.
McLain began his career in the self-storage industry more than eight years ago, working in the development and construction department of the William Warren Group and StorQuest Self-Storage. He then went on to work with the Amoroso Cos. as vice president of operations in January 2012.
In the first few months of his new position, McLain realized a change was necessary. The company began the process of rebranding its entire portfolio and building a new website for its stores. Over the course of two months, McLain and I talked about the steps and thought process his company took to rebuild its business through rebranding.
Why rebrand all your stores?
With six individually branded self-storage facilities in the San Fernando Valley, we felt it was important to bring our business under one name and create a new, consistent brand identity. Through the process of rebranding, we also realized it was an opportunity to drive net operating income and improve all store performance.
Under our new StorCal Self-Storage brand, were now able to cast a larger net to attract geographically specific customers online through our centralized website. Also, branding under the StorCal flag is vital to our portfolio expansion plans. When taking on stores through acquisitions and third-party management agreements, these new stores will receive the benefit of a larger company and its combined marketing efforts. Essentially, the rebranding effort helps throw all new properties into an established marketing campaign from day one.
Our stores also benefit from an operating cost standpoint. Management of staff, advertising, vendor discounts and more can now be spread throughout our portfolio. In the end, branding to StorCal Self-Storage was absolutely necessary to compete with national and regional operators in todays storage markets. Our goal is to leverage a new, strong brand identity and boost occupancy levels portfolio wide as a result.
What was the process to implement a new brand name, website and signage?
From day one, we knew we were going to focus our expansion plans to California, so we wanted to come up with a new name that was clever and catchy. The most difficult part was finding a name that didnt already exist. Through trial and error and research we came up with StorCal Self-Storage, focusing on California self-storage properties.
At that point we had to go through the normal steps involved: logo design, trademark submission and rights to the name, a new signage campaign, etc. The final piece was delivering a simple Web domain, www.storcal.com.
Can you break down the steps to rebrand your stores and build a new website?
From start to finish, the entire rebranding process and website build-out took approximately nine months. Today, we still find ourselves constantly fine tuning our search engine optimization initiatives.
What would you do differently if you had to do it again?
Wed probably involve our operating-software company more during the website build-out and identify early on any possible functionality issues.
Since implementing the new branding, how has it impacted your business?
In the last two months of 2012 and now into 2013, weve seen massive growth in online reservation move-ins and boosts in occupancy levels. We feel this is due to the new StorCal.com reservation website and getting on board with some of the self-storage search aggregators in which were now aligned. Right now, our online website presence helps us average 30 move-ins per month over our portfolio, and it continues to gain momentum.
Weve received great customer feedback about our new online-reservation process and the ease of use StorCal.com provides. Weve also received great responses from existing customers whove created online accounts and can now make online monthly payments. We use our customer feedback to continuously improve our website platform and provide a simple, user-friendly reservation process.
Mark Beck is the owner of StorageAlly , which provides training and support to self-storage owners, managers and investors. Hes been a self-storage operator since 1995, is an ambassador for the California Self-Storage Association, and has supported more than 200 store teams in the United States and Europe. For more information, call 818.527.4977; visit www.storageally.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbeck .
