Strategic Capital Holdings LLC (SCH), the sponsor of self-storage operator Strategic Storage Trust Inc., has partnered with StorageBattles.com to offer online storage auctions for its SmartStop Self Storage locations. The company had previously relied on its district managers to oversee its onsite lien auctions.

This is really the next evolutionary step in the self-storage industry to migrate away from in-person auctions to online auctions, said H. Michael Schwartz, president of SCH and CEO of Strategic Storage Trust, a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. StorageBattles.com offers an efficient way for consumers to view as many available auctions as possible in the privacy of their own homes versus driving to each individual property.

Company officials said they believe the move to online auctions will help SCH district managers gain back the equivalent of two to three business days each month to focus more energy on revenue-generating activities such as sales training and increasing occupancy.

The in-place auction is a very disruptive process that competed for our managers time, distracted them from their main responsibilities and sometimes inconvenienced our customers, said Ken Morrison, president of Strategic Storage Property Management LLC, which oversees the SmartStop portfolio.

StorageBattles uses an eBay-style format in which self-storage operators post pictures and videos of units up for auction, along with descriptions of unit contents. Potential buyers can bid on units via their computer, tablet or smartphone after they sign up for a free website account. The system allows bidders to participate in auctions outside of their immediate area and pick up the items in the days following the lien sale. The website currently includes about 3,500 self-storage facilities and 250,000 registered bidders.

The companys online auctions have enabled facility operators to maximize their loss recovery from an industry average of 50 percent to more than 117 percent, said James Grant, president and CEO of StorageBattles. The website also offers customer service and legal support.

By selling online, we provide a service to the bidder because now they have a venue in which they can purchase the units online, Morrison said. And at the same time, it gets us our unit back so we can rent it quickly to a paying customer.

StorageBattles was created by storage-industry veterans with more than 30 years of experience who were frustrated by the inadequacies of onsite auctions, according to a press release. The site was designed to increase auction efficiency and alleviate frustrations experienced by operators and bidders.

The Strategic Storage Trust portfolio includes more than 100 self-storage facilities across the United States and Canada that are branded as SmartStop Self Storage. It includes approximately 78,000 self-storage units and 9.5 million square feet of rentable storage space.

ONeil Software, a provider of software solutions for records-storage centers worldwide, has selected St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital as the fundraising recipient for this years oneilPartner Conference, Sept. 18-20, in Huntington Beach, Calif. Formerly called the Strategic Partner Conference, the event will take place at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort.

All proceeds from the conference will benefit the Memphis-based hospital, which specializes in advancing cures and prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Past recipients of ONeil fundraising events include Orange County Ronald McDonald House and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

A top priority for us is hosting an event that not only will inform our valued customers as to how to make use of technological advances in records storage and management effectively, but also demonstrate a strong commitment to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and help those less fortunate, said Ian Thomas, ONeils executive vice president.

ONeil serves more than 1,000 records centers in more than 80 countries, ranging from start-ups to multi-national companies. In addition to software, the company specializes in barcode tracking, portable printers, wireless handhelds and Web technology.

SSG Development LLC, a real estate investment and property development company that develops, builds and owns self-storage facilities along the East Coast, is opening a new facility in Somerville, Mass., in early June. The six-story building at 50 Middlesex Ave. in Assembly Square will contain a restaurant, a bike-storage area, and a community room on the public plaza. It is clearly visible from Interstate 93.

The facility will be managed and branded by real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage.

The new location will include state-of-the-art security, a secure drive-in area, oversized elevators and climate control. It will offer complimentary water and coffee and free use of a moving van for new customers. Community-friendly features include a secure, public bicycle room and a community conference room that can also be used free of charge. The first floor will feature the Style Café, offering coffee drinks and fresh gourmet sandwiches and catering.

The building will also be silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) equivalent. LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based, market-driven program that provides third-party verification of green buildings.

People and businesses in transitiondown-sizing, relocating students, remodeling, new home purchases, seasonal inventory, excess inventoryare creating great demand for state-of-the-art storage. We are excited to meet that need and to exceed customers expectations with a facility that makes the process financially feasible and stress-free, said SSG Manager Gerald Cohen.

SSG engaged local community groups, the planning department and the mayors office to ensure it was developing a facility that fit into the communitys vision. We welcomed and listened to the feedback of the local community. They know Somerville best and helped us develop a better facility, one that will strengthen Somerville as a whole and support future growth at Assembly Square, said Dave Fulton, chief operating officer.

SSG Development is SSG is headquartered in Brookline, Mass. The Somerville facility is the company's ninth self-storage location. It's properties are in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Stor-All Storage, a self-storage operator with 44 facilities throughout Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Deerfield Beach, Fla., location and headquarters. The 2.4-acre property at 1375 West Hillsboro Blvd. began operating in May 1988. It comprises one three-story and six single-story buildings totaling 61,522 square feet of self-storage space in 778 climate-controlled and drive-up units.

The 3,300-square-foot corporate headquarters houses 20 employees. Having our headquarters located in one of our storage properties keeps everyone in the office directly aware of the many aspects involved in the daily operation of a self-storage property and helps maintain our corporate culture at all levels," said Jeff Anderson, managing partner.

"Stor-All University is also located onsite. Every member of the Stor-All family receives a full week of Stor-All University training in Deerfield Beach. The training gives them the chance to meet everyone and learn in the same environment as their peers. This is a very special property in our portfolio. I am very thankful it has been so successful over the past 25 years, and Im excited to see what the next 25 years bring, Anderson said.

Stor-All Storage is a family business founded in 1967. It is a fully integrated self-storage company providing real estate brokerage, asset selection, underwriting, construction, development, property management and investor relations services to its individual investment partnerships.

Self-storage and shopping malls posted the largest first-quarter 2013 financial gains among real estate investment trusts (REITs). Although REITs across most sectors performed well during the quarter, self-storage was among a group whose earnings exceeded analyst expectations, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Rent and occupancy rates climbed in many commercial real estate segments. "We saw continued strengthening of property fundamentals across most of the major property sectors," said Craig Leupold, president of Green Street Advisors, a research and analysis firm specializing in REITs.

The four U.S.-based self-storage REITsCubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage Inc. and Sovran Self Storage Inc.continued their strong three-year performance trend, generally bolstered by increased rental rates and consumer demand. Occupancy across Extra Space locations, for example, rose 2.9 percent during the quarter to a record high of 88.6 percent. The results helped boost Extra Space revenue 7.5 percent to $82.8 million and net operating income 10.8 percent to $56.4 million.

Extra Space owns or operates 965 self-storage properties in 35 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The companys properties comprise approximately 640,000 units and 70 million square feet of rentable space.

Shopping malls also exceeded some analyst expectations during the quarter. Sector gains were attributed to the in-person appeal upscale malls and outlet centers continue to have with shoppers, without significant growing competition from Internet retailers, said Alexander Goldfarb, an analyst with Sandler O'Neill + Partners.

City zoning officials in Marco Island, Fla., voted 5-1 Friday against a proposed zoning amendment that would enable Progressive Auto Storage to add traditional self-storage units to its vehicle-storage business. The request for a C-4 zoning district was opposed by two neighboring self-storage operators. Self-storage is currently only permitted in the citys C-5 zones. It was the second reading for the request, following the boards unanimous denial during the first reading on April 5.

Progressive Auto Owner Mike Kelly Jr. asked the zoning board via e-mail on Thursday to reschedule the second reading because his attorney wasnt available to attend. He asked for a continuance to June 7 so he would have legal representation at the meeting. Two self-storage owners, Mario Rizzi of Rizzis Storage and Jerry Helms of Marco Island Storage, have retained attorney Douglas Lewis of The Lewis Law Firm to represent their interests. The self-storage businesses are in C-5 zones. During discussions about continuing the vote, the board determined a continuance wasnt necessary, as Kellys zoning request will have two more readings before the city council.

Progressive Auto Storage is a five-story, 156,000-square-foot building. The company would designate two stories to traditional self-storage. Buildings operating in the C-5 zone, which includes self-storage, are limited to two stories. Progressive Autos location is currently zoned C-4, which allows motor-vehicle storage.

Those in opposition of the zoning change told the board Progressive Auto would have an unfair advantage in the market if the zoning request was approved. Lewis said the change would have an economic impact on the C-5 district in which land to develop self-storage is still available. He also said the zoning change would alter the look of the C-4 zones if self-storage was allowed. During his argument, Lewis mentioned the petition with signatures of 38 owners of C-5 properties who oppose Kellys zoning request.

By Tiana Bodine

Considering the rising popularity of self-storage auctions, it's hardly surprising that technology is offering new ways of bringing units and bidders together. Online storage auctions are quickly gaining traction due to their convenience, offering benefits to facility operators and sale bidders alike. By understanding how these auctions work and why they can be equally if not more effective than traditional auctions, you can gain insight into the future of the industry.

Until recently, online self-storage auctions were not feasible, for several reasons. First, many state lien laws required auctions to be held at the facility or a reasonably near public place. Additionally, there wasnt enough virtual infrastructure to truly promote these auctions and secure bidders.

However, all of that has changed. New auction goers are more tech-savvy than ever, and they're already accustomed to spending time online searching for auctions and researching units. By placing real units for sale within their grasp, a storage operator can pique buyer interest and secure more thoughtful bids. This is one reason virtual storage auctions can earn as much as twice that of traditional onsite sales.

Offering Efficiency

Online storage auctions are cost-effective, making them a great choice for bidders. Serious buyers no longer need to waste time and gas traveling to multiple locations in a day. Instead, they can bid from the comfort of home or while attending to their own businesses, which maximizes their efficiency. They also have more time to research units and budget their bids. Overall, serious resellers can benefit tremendously by taking advantage of online auctions.

Self-storage operators can also benefit from these auctions. The presence of large crowds causes logistical nightmares for many facility managers, from problems with parking to the increase in liability risks. By trimming the number of people visiting the storage facility while keeping the earnings from auctions high, virtual storage auctions present an ideal solution.

In regard to lien requirements that auctions must happen at the storage facility or a reasonably near public place, storage operators can begin running their auctions concurrently onsite and online. Once the units are listed online, they only need to mention the URL of the auction service theyre using in the legal notice. This encourages bidders to search for it online first and make their initial bids.

When the traditional auction starts, the bids gathered online can be the starting bids offered. As local auction-goers in the area become savvy to this technique, theyll focus more attention on the Internet, which allows self-storage operators to earn the highest possible bid without an overwhelming crowd at the facility.

Tiana Bodine is a freelance writer with experience in a number of industries. She recently assisted TCL Media Group, a developer of websites focused on self-storage auctions, in launching its newest website and free auction-listing service, VirtualStorageAuction.com. For more information, e-mail [email protected] .

Canadian self-storage operator Dymon Self Storage, which has seven facilities in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, recently opened a new facility in Ottawa and will continue to expand its brand with further development. The company, which opened its first facility in 2006, will open seven facilities this spring and several more in the next few years, according to the source.

Dymon Self Storage is owned by entrepreneurs Glen Luckman and Brent Wilson, who also own two retirement homes in Ottawa. Their storage business holds nearly 70 percent of Ottawas self-storage market, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Luckman and Wilson began their partnership in 1995 while retrofitting commercial properties. They opened their first self-storage facility on Coventry Road in Ottawa and now plan to build and operate about 10 million square feet of self-storage in the Greater Toronto area. Depending on the size of the facilities, the partners may develop 70 to 80 properties in the next eight years, Luckman told the source. When complete, the Dymon portfolio could be worth an estimated $2.5 billion to $3 billion, he said.

Wilson and Luckman attribute their success to their operating procedures and emphasis on safety. The hallways in Dymon buildings are well-lit, the companys 65 employees wear uniforms, and staff continually monitor every hallway, door and elevator via surveillance cameras in a command center. The climate-controlled facilities also offer meeting rooms, retail products, and and mailbox or deposit-box rentals.

Dymon Self Storage is also an eco-friendly business. Buildings are constructed to green standards, according to the source, and incorporate rooftop solar panels.

Self-storage operator Carriage Barn Mini Storage in Hope Valley, R.I., received approval from the planning board last week to expand the facility. At the May 1 meeting, the members of the planning board unanimously approved a special-use permit, enabling the facility to add four buildings.

Situated on 5 acres, the facility currently has 200 self-storage units in four buildings. Owner Edward Faubert plans to add 20,000 square feet divided into 200 units. Faubert also asked the board to rescind other restrictions enforced on the facility since it opened in 1998 including the ban on outdoor storage and climate-controlled units. He told the board that not offering climate-controlled self-storage is hurting his business. In addition, Faubert would like to open his facility to storage for boats, RVs and other vehicles.

The board approved waiving the restrictions on outdoor parking as long as the stored vehicles are registered and not construction equipment. The board also lifted the ban on climate control. Fauberts application for expansion will be considered by the citys zoning board on May 16.