A proposal by U-Haul International Inc. to expand an existing self-storage facility onto the site of a former cafe was unanimously rejected by the Chicopee, Mass., City Council last week. U-Haul sought a special-use permit to purchase an adjacent site at 878 Memorial Drive and construct a new building there, according to the source.

The plans for the former Bridge Cafe, which has been closed for several years, included a 30-foot-high storage facility. During its April 3 meeting, the council focused on the size of the structure, noting many of the surrounding homes are single-story ranches.

“It would be a substantial inconvenience to neighbors and abutters,” said councilmember Shane D. Brooks. “The scale of the building would be incompatible to the neighborhood.”

The city’s planning board and zoning committee had recommended the council reject the zoning request. Several residents also spoke against the project during a zoning-committee meeting. “The neighbors were clear about it. I don't think they were unreasonable,” Brooks said.

The zoning committee also had concerns about increased traffic in the area, which is near the rotary at the intersection of Granby Road and Memorial Drive.

“There is a better use for that land. We already have a storage facility on Memorial Drive,” said councilmember James K. Tillotson.

Established in 1945, Phoenix-based U-Haul owns more than 44 million square feet of storage space. The company’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, has led to dozens of conversion projects in recent years.

Source:
Mass Live, City Council Rejects Plans for Storage Facility on Former Bridge Cafe Land

 

Vault Storage Co. has converted a former office building to self-storage in North Wales, Pa. The property at 212 N. Church Road is in the former site of Iconic Clinical Research. It’s within walking distance of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station, according to a press release.

The facility comprises more than 109,000 square feet of rentable storage space in 691 units. Features include temperature control, outdoor vehicle parking, keypad access, and a retail store that sells moving and packing supplies. Tenants have access to online billpay and reservations.

The company will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening on May 22. The event will include property tours as well raffles for free storage. Members of the West Montgomery Chamber of Commerce will attend.

Vault is owned by a partnership that collectively owns four Pennsylvania storage facilities containing more than 2,000 units. The North Wales property will be managed by Storage Asset Management Inc., a self-storage management and consulting firm based in York, Pa.

The former Jurgielewicz Duck Farm in Moriches, N.Y., which has recently been used for illegal dumping, could become the site of a new self-storage facility if the current land owner cleans it up. Brookhaven Town officials approved a zoning change in January for the 9-acre property on Barnes Road, south of Sunrise Highway. The proposal includes the construction of seven storage structures as well as a 20,400-square-foot outdoor area for vehicle storage, according to the source.

The approval was granted to Kenneth J. Cartalemi, 70, who died in March. Prior to his death, Cartalemi had been cited by town official for several zoning and code violations, including storing heavy equipment on the property. The charges are pending in Suffolk County Sixth District Court, the source reported.

Cartalemi’s son, also named Kenneth, is hoping to continue his father’s plans for the property, but the town is threatening to withdraw the zoning change pending several stipulations, including site clean-up. In addition to debris, the land contains nitrogen deposits from decades of duck effluent, according to councilmember Dan Panico, who added that the council would prefer a storage facility on the site over houses or condominiums.

“We wanted to not only clean up the site but put forward a use that is rather innocuous, create a tax base for all taxing jurisdictions and [have] something that would fit in with the area,” Panico said. “We are still going to pursue any violations on the property until the property is cleared.”

To keep the zoning in place, the developer must remove the metal and tin shacks from the site, plant evergreen trees, build a berm along Barnes Road, and pay a $477,750 “mitigation fee” for the purchase of other properties for open-space preservation.

An agreement by the elder Cartalemi to set aside a 3-acre section along Swift Stream, which feeds into Forge River, will remain in place. The town plans to preserve the area as open space and protect the river from runoff, the source reported.

Beth Wahl, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Mastics & Shirley, supports the project, noting a storage facility would be a better use for the property than the duck farm. “Anything is better than what was there before. I can’t imagine it’s going to create any issues there at all,” she said.

Another community member expressed concern about harm to the waterways. “It’s very hard for me to believe they want to do anything to help the Forge River,” said MaryAnn Johnston, president of the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization Inc., an umbrella group of civic associations. “What you pave over doesn’t go away. You have to clean it up to make it go away.”

Source:
Newsday, Brookhaven to Developer: Clean Up Old Duck Farm Before Building

Development and consulting firm Prospectus LLC is building a self-storage facility in Stamford, Conn. Slated to open in the fourth quarter, the property at 432 Fairfield Ave. will contain 906 climate-controlled units and lockers. It’ll be managed by self-storage real estate investment trust CubeSmart and branded under its name, according to the source.

A $9.1 million construction loan from Brookline Bank of Massachusetts was arranged by Colliers International, a global commercial real estate services firm with offices in 66 countries, according to the source. The Colliers team included Kevin Phelan, John Poole and Thomas Welch.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Prospectus provides consulting, construction management and development for commercial real estate. Its clients include banks, corporations, government institutions, land trusts and law firms.

Source:
Westfair Communications, Colliers Lands $9.1M in Financing for Stamford Self-Storage Facility

Officials in Yonkers, N.Y., are debating whether to change zoning to allow self-storage development in retail corridors as long as the projects include retail on the ground floor. City planners devised the amendment in response to a property owner who’s pursuing a self-storage project in a strip mall on Central Park Avenue. This type of development is currently limited to commercial and industrial areas of the city, according to the source.

"What you're seeing in the industry is a greater coupling of other type of business uses—coffee shops, laundromats, things of that nature—in these self-storage facilities, that they're not just things that you go to that are located in an [industrial] zone," said Michael Curti, the city’s corporation counsel, during a recent meeting of the city council’s real estate committee.

The amendment could be viewed as a way for the city to spur development in vacated retail space. A former Pathmark grocery store at 2500 Central Park Ave. has been empty since 2015. Babies R Us and Toys R Us locations on Central Park Avenue are expected to close due to bankruptcy, the source reported.

The ground-floor retail provision is opposed by the New York Self Storage Association. "If you put that additional requirement on [self-storage developers] to have underneath retail, they're going to balk at going after that space," argued Joseph Miller, an attorney for the association.

Curti and planning director Lee Ellman argued the amendment is designed to expand self-storage within the city’s limits, not curtail development. New projects wouldn’t be required to include retail in industrial or warehouse districts.

Not all council members view the proposal favorably. Mike Breen noted he received complaints that tenants of a self-storage facility on Fullerton Avenue made repairs to stored motorcycles on the street and created disruptive noise when testing the vehicles. The city prohibits vehicles from being stored with gasoline in their tanks, according to the source.

"They didn't drain the tanks out when they dropped the bikes off," Breen said. "I'm just wondering how we're going to prevent this from reoccurring."

Breen also called for more local regulation on the storage industry, the source reported.

The real estate committee voted 3-2 to move the amendment proposal to the rules committee, which will decide whether to place the item on the city-council agenda for discussion.

Source:
Lohud, Yonkers Considering Self-Storage Expansion to Retail Areas

The Santa Maria, Calif., City Council rejected an appeal against a Great American Self Storage project on Tuesday and approved the development. The facility will comprise 110,000 square feet in 513 units and 71 RV spaces on 7.9 acres at 1265 W. Betteravia Road. It’ll also offer wine storage, according to the source.

Though the planning commission approved the project in February, resident John Stratton filed an appeal contending the project lacked adequate parking and expressing safety concerns of large RVs backing onto Betteravia Road. He didn’t attend the meeting, the source reported.

Councilmember Etta Waterfield urged other members to reject the appeal and move forward with the project. “The parking is completely covered and is legal, so there isn’t any reason to delay this process,” Waterfield said.

Founded in 1986 by David Pick, Great American operates a 71,200-square-foot location on Enos Drive, about three miles from the Betteravia site. It also has a 63,000-square-foot facility in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Pick is also the founder and president of California-Hawaiian Properties, a consulting and development firm specializing in self-storage. The company has developed more than 4 million square feet of self-storage, according to Pick’s LinkedIn profile.

Sources:
Noozhawk, Santa Maria City Council OKs Mini-Storage, Wine Warehouse Facility
LinkedIn, David Pick

Kennards Self Storage, which operates more than 85 facilities in Australia and New Zealand, intends to double the storage capacity of its Gipps Street property in Wollongong, Australia. The $8 million project, under review by the city council, would fill most of a 30,000-square-meter parcel between Flinders Street and the South Coast rail line, according to the source.

The plan includes a bridge crossing over Fairy Creek to connect Stafford and Station Streets, which requires an assessment by the Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel, the source reported.

“Whilst this self-storage center itself only employs small staff numbers, it exponentially facilitates numerous commercial enterprises and is a support center to the activity of the city center,” Kennards officials said in their application. “The occupation of the current center has shown a [direct] indication of the high demand for self-storage.”

Kennards is a family-owned business based in Sydney. It opened its first self-storage facility in 1973 in Moorebank, Australia.

Source:
Illawarra Mercury, Kennards Reveals $8M Expansion Plans for Self-Storage Warehouses

Update 4/9/18 – SSGT has opened its two-story self-storage facility at 3173 Sweeten Creek Road in Asheville. The property features all climate-controlled units, covered loading and unloading areas, computerized lobby access, elevators, and video cameras for security.

"We are pleased to open this new self-storage facility in the heart of Asheville, the largest city in Western North Carolina," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO.

The property is centrally located on the alternate route of U.S. Highway 25, just south of Mills Gap Road.

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1/13/17 – Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc. (SSGT), a public, non-traded real estate investment trust focused on self-storage acquisition and development, has purchased a vacant industrial building in Asheville, N.C., that it intends to convert to self-storage. The property at 3175 Sweeten is in the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Once complete, the facility will comprise 72,000 net rentable square feet of storage space in 650 climate-controlled and drive-up units.

"Asheville has been experiencing steady growth in population for the past 40 years," said H. Michael Schwartz, CEO and chairman. "A recent boom in construction projects from apartments, hotels and retail properties has fueled job growth and wages, which is a good indicator of broadening economic health. The constant flow of people moving to the area also enhances the already strong demand for self-storage facilities."

The company currently owns 11 storage facilities in the Asheville area totaling 4,850 units, 76 buildings and 553,500 net rentable square feet, according to a press release.

SSGT focuses on the acquisition, development, redevelopment and lease-up of self-storage properties. Its portfolio currently consists of 14 storage facilities in seven states comprising approximately 1.1 million net rentable square feet in 9,300 storage units. The company is sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management LLC, a diversified real estate company with a managed portfolio of 102 self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States. Its managed properties comprise approximately 7.4 million rentable square feet.

Sources:
PR Newswire, Strategic Storage Growth Trust, Inc. Opens New Self Storage Facility in Asheville, North Carolina
Yahoo Finance, Strategic Storage Growth Trust, Inc. (SSGT) Acquires Vacant Industrial Building in Asheville, North Carolina with Plans to Convert into a Self Storage Facility

Strategic Storage Trust IV Inc. (SST IV), a public, non-traded, real estate investment trust sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management LLC, has purchased a self-storage facility in Las Vegas. Value Self Storage at 8020 Las Vegas Blvd. S. comprises about 55,000 rentable square feet in 580 units, according to a press release.

The property is adjacent to Interstates 15 and 215, “with solid population density and a high traffic count," said Wayne Johnson, chief investment officer. "This acquisition aligns well with our investment criteria, and we believe the property will benefit operationally by being in close proximity to other SmartStop managed facilities in the area."

Based in Maryland, SST IV owns four self-storage properties comprising about 237,000 net rentable square feet. It intends to invest in a portfolio of self-storage properties in Canada and the United States.

SmartStop is the asset manager for 114 facilities in Canada and the U.S. Its portfolio comprises approximately 8.3 million rentable square feet.

Strategic Storage Trust IV Inc. (SST IV), a public, non-traded, real estate investment trust sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management LLC, has purchased a self-storage facility in Riverside, Calif. Van Buren Self Storage at 3167 Van Buren Blvd. comprises about 55,000 rentable square feet in 460 units. Built in 1984, it sits on 2.3 acres, according to a press release.

"We believe the property will be an exceptional addition to the rapidly growing portfolio of Strategic Storage Trust IV," said Wayne Johnson, chief investment officer. "Located just two blocks south of the 91 Freeway, this asset is on a major artery serving the City of Riverside and should benefit operationally by being in proximity to other SmartStop-managed facilities in the area."

Based in Maryland, SST IV owns three self-storage properties comprising about 182,000 net rentable square feet. It intends to invest in in a portfolio of self-storage properties in Canada and the United States.

SmartStop is the asset manager for 113 facilities in Canada and the U.S. Its portfolio comprises approximately 8.2 million rentable square feet.

Source:
PR Newswire, Strategic Storage Trust IV Acquires 460-Unit Self Storage Facility in Riverside, California