Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered non-traded self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), recently purchased 2.5 acres of land in Toronto to build a self-storage facility. The company purchased the land at 505 and 515 Centennial Road for $3.8 million (CAD).

"We targeted this land in the district of Scarborough due to its prime access from the 401 Expressway and Kingston Road," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO. "This ground-up development underscores our long-term commitment to self-storage in the Greater Toronto area."

The new project will encompass 78,000 net rentable square feet of storage space and 879 units in three single-story buildings and three two-story structures. It will be branded as SmartStop Self Storage.

Strategic Storage Trust currently owns three storage properties and has one under development in Ontario. The properties encompass  411,600 net rentable square feet and 3,695 units. The portfolio includes:

• 4548 Dufferin St., Toronto, with 110,300 square feet and 1,060 units
• 3136 Mavis Road, Mississauga, with 101,500 square feet and 815 units
• 8 Brewster Road, Brampton, with 108,800 square feet  and 930 units
• 600 Granite, Pickering, currently under development, with 91,000 square feet and 890 units

Launched in 2008, Strategic Storage Trust operates a portfolio of 125 self-storage facilities in 17 states and Canada. Branded as SmartStop Self Storage, the properties comprise approximately 79,000 units and 10.4 million rentable square feet of storage space.

By Allie Johnson

If you’re not using mobile technology to help operate your self-storage facility, you could be missing out on savings of time and money—and the chance to secure more business. “Mobile devices aren’t going anywhere; they’re just going to get more and more sophisticated,” says Michael Sawyer, director of marketing for OpenTech Alliance Inc., a Phoenix-based company that offers cloud services and technology products to the self-storage industry. “And there are lots of opportunities to use them in self-storage.”

Here are two main ways you can tap into mobile technology:

• Use your own mobile phone to help you do your jobs more efficiently.
• Optimize your business so consumers can use smartphones or tablets to shop for units, make payments and even ensure their belongings are secure.

Mobile technology also lets you manage their businesses from anywhere, says Scott Hedrick, owner of Super Storage Group, which operates six facilities in Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina. He uses the mobile features from a Web-based management-software program and has also optimized his website, superstorageonline.com, for mobile phones. “I don’t have to get in the car or on an airplane and go see a site every week or month. I can see from afar what happens,” he says.

The Benefits

Mobile technology can help self-storage operators with almost all aspects of their businesses. Here are seven benefits you will see when using it.

Market to customers you might not otherwise reach. If your website is optimized for mobile phones, you’ll have a better shot at reaching the 55 percent of American adults who own a smartphone and the 42 percent who own a tablet, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a nonprofit, research organization. The numbers are even higher in the under-50 crowd; 79 percent of those age 18 to 29 and 67 percent of those age 30 to 49 use a smartphone, according to the survey.

Many customers are shopping for self-storage from their smartphones. When surveying new customers, Hedrick says the percentage who find his facility using a mobile device grows each year. In 2013, he estimates the number surpassed 50 percent. As soon as a prospective customer visits his website via a mobile device, it’s easy to contact the nearest facility, he says. “They don’t even have to dial the number. They just push the button that says ‘call.’”

Check up on the competition. In March, StorTrack LLC launched a mobile version of its new subscription pricing-management service that allows self-storage operators to monitor prices on units in their area. The app makes it easier for operators to use their smartphones or tablets to track and analyze pricing data such as average, minimum and maximum prices, according to Cindy Rivera, support and marketing manager at StorTrack. “They’ll get alerts when a price changes for a competitor down the street,” she says. “It will be a way for owners to be quickly in the know.”

Rent units after hours. When storage facilities are set up for self-service, such as with mobile technology or kiosks, about half of customer transactions take place outside normal business hours, Sawyer says. And letting a customer lease a unit—pick the desired location and size, e-sign a lease and pay rent—using a mobile device requires no face-to-face time, he adds. By contrast, it typically takes about 25 minutes to complete the rental process when a customer walks into the office.

Take payments from customers. Having technology that enables customers to pay using their mobile phones provides convenience and saves time for operators and tenants, Sawyer says. In some cases, it can even boost your chances of getting money from a delinquent tenant, according to Joe Krezdorn, owner and manager at DAK Self Storage in Leesport, Pa.

Sometimes, Krezdorn will get a call from a tenant who’s at the gate, locked out because of a delinquent bill. “I’ll tell them, ‘I’m not there and I won’t be in until tomorrow at 9 a.m.,” he says. “They’ll say, ‘That’s no problem, I’ll just pay from my phone.’” Once the customer makes the payment, he can enter the gate and access the unit, as long as the unit isn’t overlocked.

Nudge customers to pay past-due bills. Some self-storage software programs offer the ability to send text messages to customers, which can help with the collection process, says Markus Hecker, chief operating officer of SMD Software Inc., the provider of SiteLink self-storage software. Text messaging can reach tenants when e-mail and other methods might fail. Hecker cites research showing consumers take an average of only 90 seconds to respond to a text message, but 90 minutes to answer an e-mail.

Perform routine management tasks. Some mobile apps allow operators to open and close security gates, turn lights on and off, and run video surveillance on the property, Hecker says. “They can basically control the whole property from whenever and wherever they are via their smartphone or tablet.”

Monitor the security of the facility. As an out-of-state owner, Hedrick appreciates the ability to check a facility’s security cameras from his phone if an alarm goes off after hours. “You can see if somebody’s in your office at 2 a.m.”

Mobile technology also lets customers ensure their stuff is safe. For example, with PTI Security Systems’ StorLogix software and Falcon XT system controller, operators can control site security from their mobile devices and send a text or e-mail alert to tenants when a unit is opened.

Begin With the Basics

If you’re not yet using mobile technology, Sawyer recommends you start with the fundamentals. First, make sure your website is compatible with mobile devices. Then get a jump on the competition by creating the ability for tenants to complete the rental process on your website.

Only a small percentage of properties do this now, Sawyer says. “Have a functional website that will allow them to pick out a unit, pay for the unit, sign the lease electronically, and show up at your business and already be a customer.”

Allie Johnson is a freelance writer based in Columbus, Ga. She writes regularly for SpareFoot, an online marketplace for the self-storage industry, and its blog, The Storage Facilitator, as well as creditcards.com, insurancequotes.com, costhelper.com and other websites.

Update 4/17/14 – Boxbee Simple Urban Storage has raised $2.3 million in seed-round funding led by investment firm Floodgate Fund LP and drawing buy-in from several other investors including Google Ventures, 500 Startups, Ludlow Ventures, Techstars and Internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, according to a report by the “Wall Street Journal.”

The app-based startup business, which specializes in valet self-storage services, will use some of the funding to scale its business domestically and expand its full-time staff from 13 employees to 30, according to the report. CEO Kristoph Matthews said he intends to add to the growing company’s engineering, customer-service, sales and marketing teams, as well as increase the number of staff who handle customer storage containers in its warehouses.

Boxbee is also testing a shared “library” service, in which customers can lend items they have in storage to others, according to Ann Miura-Ko, a co-founding partner at Floodgate, who also has invested in SpareFoot, an online self-storage marketplace that helps consumers find and reserve traditional self-storage units. With the library, customers can send invitations or links to friends who can view photos of items offered on loan and choose to have desired pieces shipped directly to them.

“Boxbee is a modern-day shipping, valet and storage service,” Miura-Ko said. “There’s a sort of ease-of-use to it, when it comes to pickup and drop-offs, that makes it appealing to customers. But then there is the storage service, which makes it very sticky as well.”

Similar storage-related businesses that have received “angel-” and venture-backed funding include Clutter Inc., CityStash Holdings LLC, The Box Butler and Unpakt LLC, according to the report.

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2/18/14 – Boxbee Simple Urban Storage, a startup business specializing in valet self-storage services, has refined its business model since launching last year in San Francisco. The company has added New York City to its service area, purchased its own delivery vehicles and warehouse space, and upgraded its storage containers.

“At launch we were using cardboard boxes for storage and Task Rabbits for shuttle services,” CEO Kristoph Matthews told the source. “That worked well as a proof of concept, but now we are investing a lot of resources into building a real logistics structure. We are bringing everything in-house, from the transportation with our own branded vehicles to our own warehouses and storage space. This means we have complete control, which means a faster turnaround time for our customers.”

Boxbee’s services work similarly to other recent, valet-style storage startups targeting customers in urban environments with little home storage. When customers sign up for service online, the company delivers storage bins to their home for free. Customers then create an inventory on the Boxbee website of which items are stored in each container and schedule a free pickup. The boxes are then retrieved and stored in a secure warehouse for between $6 and $10 per month per bin. Whenever customers want to retrieve belongings, Boxbee will deliver the desired bins for a $15 fee and $2 per bin.

The company currently stores about 5,000 boxes, according to the source. “Traditional storage is disorganized and unpleasant—you have to own or rent a vehicle, drive to the unit, waste time finding whatever it is you are interested in, close up the unit and drive back. Nobody likes this,” Matthews said. “I see Boxbee as being in the business of making urban life more convenient and efficient.”

Last December, Boxbee also debuted a “sharing library” in which customers can share items they have in storage with friends and colleagues.

Other self-storage valet businesses have sprouted up in the United States within the past year, including Clutter in Los Angeles and Storrage Inc. in Seattle.

Update 4/17/14 – PhoneSmart’s “Toes for a Kure” campaign raised $1,100 for Kure It Cancer Research. The company pledged to donate $10 to Kure It for every person who visited its booth wearing open-toed shoes, sandals or flip-flops during two recent industry events: the national Self Storage Association’s spring convention and the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas.

The footwear-themed campaign was chosen as a tribute to Kure It founder Barry Hoeven, who always wears sandals or flip-flops because closed-toed shoes are too uncomfortable for him as a result of his kidney cancer, PhoneSmart officials said in a press release.

“Statistics say one in three people will be faced with some form of cancer during their lifetime,” said Tron Jordheim, director of operations for PhoneSmart. “Better, more easily accessible treatments need to be made available. With Toes for a Kure, we wanted to have a bit of fun at the tradeshows, while highlighting all the great work Barry Hoeven and Kure It is doing.”

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2/19/14 – PhoneSmart, an off-site sales and reservation center for self-storage operations, will hold a “Toes for a Kure” fundraiser this spring to raise money for Kure It Cancer Research, a nonprofit dedicated to funding kidney and other cancer research. PhoneSmart will donate $10 for every person who visits its booth wearing open-toed shoes, sandals or flip-flops during two upcoming industry events, including the national Self Storage Association’s (SSA) spring convention and the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas.

Kure It was launched by self-storage industry veteran Barry Hoeven, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1998. In April 2007, Hoeven partnered with cancer center City of Hope to create the Kure It! Kidney Cancer Research Fund, which raised more than $400,000. Kure It Inc. was established in January 2010 to grant funds to cancer researchers investigating progressive treatments and cures. To date the organization has raised more than $2.5 million.

The footwear-themed campaign was chosen as a tribute to Hoeven, who always wears sandals or flip-flops because closed-toed shoes are too uncomfortable for him as a result of his cancer, PhoneSmart officials said in a press release. The fundraiser also has a social media tie-in using the hashtag #toesforakure.

“We are hoping to have a little fun at the tradeshows while highlighting all the great work Barry Hoeven and Kure It do,” said Tron Jordheim, director of PhoneSmart. “We hope lots of people show up in sandals!”

The SSA event will take place March 2-4 in Atlanta. The ISS Expo, the self-storage industry’s largest conference and tradeshow, will be held March 30 through April 2 at the Paris Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas. Created for facility owners, managers, developers, investors and suppliers, it comprises four days of education, exhibits and networking opportunities.

PhoneSmart was founded in 2000 to serve its parent company, StorageMart, and offer off-site sales support and call-center services to other companies in the self-storage and property-management industries. The company answers rental inquiries for more than 100 client companies and 800 individual properties in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Jenkins Organization Inc., a Houston-based operator, developer and manager of self-storage properties, recently purchased Reading Road Self Storage in Rosenberg, Texas. The facility at 5208 Reading Road comprises 33,700 net rentable square feet of storage space and 258 storage units on 4.78 acres. It also includes more than 2 acres for potential expansion.

Opened in 2006, the property is 35 miles southwest of Houston. Amenities include video cameras, monthly pest-control services, and moving and packing supplies

Bill Bellomy, Michael Johnson and John Owens of Bellomy & Co. represented the buyer and seller, Reading Road Self Storage Ltd. of Katy, Texas, in the transaction. Bellomy & Co. is a commercial real estate brokerage company focusing on the sale of self-storage, industrial, office and retail properties nationwide. It has offices in Austin, Houston and Lubbock, Texas.

Formed in 1989, The Jenkins Organization owns and manages a portfolio of more than 50 self-storage properties in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, comprising more than 3.5 million square feet of storage space.

Madison Self Storage in San Antonio was recently purchased by property-management company RHW Capital Management Group LLC and its joint-venture partner, Woodbridge Capital Partners. The single-story facility at 14611 O’Connor Road features 500 units. Amenities include video cameras, 24-hour access, boat and RV storage, and moving and packing supplies.

“We are especially energized that we completed this acquisition in an ‘all-cash’ manner with the help of our new equity partner,” said James J. Hanrahan, amanaging partner of RHW.

"We are on very solid footing with our new equity partners and we will be aggressively pursuing top-quality assets throughout the country,” added William Lappas, a group partner.

Based in Orangewood, Calif., and formed in 2012, RHW was formed as a vehicle to acquire self-storage assets and manage ongoing projects. It was founded by Hanrahan and managing partners Ryan T. Rogers and Christopher Weber, who have a combined 65 years of acquisition and operational experience. The company currently owns and manages facilities in California, Georgia, Indiana and Texas, and will continue to grow its portfolio domestically and abroad, according to its website.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an amended bill updating the state’s self-storage lien-law process as well as a bill granting storage operators the ability to act as limited-lines agents for tenant insurance. Both bills were signed last week and lobbied by the national Self Storage Association and the Kentucky Self Storage Association.

Senate Bill 150 enables operators to send lien-sale notifications to tenants via “verified electronic mail” and verified mail. A verified e-mail address is one for which the sender has used “reasonable means” to verify. First notifications can still be sent by regular mail, according to the bill. The new law also allows for lien auctions to take place on a publically accessible website.

The measure also allows operators to place limitations in rental agreements on the value of stored goods. The limit specified on the lease would be considered the maximum value of the tenant’s stored property. The bill also addresses motor vehicles and would enable operators to have vehicles belonging to delinquent tenants towed after 60 days.

In addition, the law enables operators to impose monthly late fees, after five days delinquency, equal to the greater of $20 or 20 percent of monthly rent. Self-storage businesses can also recoup from tenants “reasonable expenses” incurred from pursuing rent collection or lien enforcement.

House Bill 357 enables operators to “offer and disseminate” tenant insurance on behalf of insurance carriers approved by the state. Under the law, the insurance producer’s name must be clearly identified on materials, and self-storage employees assigned to offer the insurance to customers must undergo a training program that is subject to review by the state commissioner.

The law also requires operators to make certain disclosures to customers, including a statement that insurance coverage may duplicate coverage in a policy already held by the tenant. If tenant insurance is listed as a conditional requirement on a rental agreement, customers would be able to satisfy the requirement by purchasing the insurance offered through the self-storage facility or by producing evidence of other applicable coverage.

A proposed Green Mountain Self Storage facility in Wilmington, Vt., received unanimous approval for a conditional-use permit last week from the city’s development review board. Property owner Joseph Montano intends to build two storage buildings comprising 7,500 square feet of rentable space in 144 units. He hopes to open the business in July.

The property on Route 9 West shares a common driveway with a former WW Building Supply complex. The 24-hour facility will feature 25-foot wide aisles to provide better vehicle access to units and motion-activated LED lighting. A 6-foot, vinyl-covered, chain-link fence will be erected on the side of the lot that faces the former building-supply complex as well as along the property behind the storage buildings, according to the source.

Two one-story “cottages” on the site are planned for demolition, while a multi-family dwelling will remain. A fence will separate the storage facility from the residence. Board member Sherry Brissette once lived inside the building and told her colleagues that Montano had added “great improvements” since purchasing the property.

Montano said he expects to draw business from residents who own second homes in the area, those who own snowmobiles, and business owners who need space to store inventory.

The board agreed the self-storage project meets the city’s requirements for a conditional-use permit, as long as Montano agrees to provide at least six parking space at the multi-family residence. Other stipulations include no outside storage and no overnight parking near or within the facility.

Arizona Storage Inn in Phoenix recently sold for $1.9 million, or about $51 per square foot. Built in 2000, the property at 1120 W. Phelps Road encompasses 38,000 square feet of storage space, and includes 259 units and seven RV-parking spots. Amenities include video cameras, extended gate hours and individual unit alarms.

The buyer was 1120 East Phelps Road LLC, which is owned by a Santa Monica, Calif.-based investor. The seller was Bell Road & 12th Street Investors Limited Partnership, an entity controlled by a Phoenix developer. The facility was 75 percent occupied at the time of the sale.

Bill Alter and Denise Nunez of Rein & Grossoehme Commercial Real Estate negotiated the deal, which was their 128th self-storage closing.

Founded in 1993, Rein & Grossoehme specializes in the sale of investment properties and retail, office and industrial leasing.

Arizona Storage Inns operates 17 facilities in the Phoenix-metro area.