The U-Haul Co. of Fargo has completed construction of a self-storage facility at its existing U-Haul rental operation in Minot, N.D. The new addition to U-Haul Moving and Storage of Minot features two single-story storage buildings comprised of 33,150 net rentable square feet and more than 400 units.

The property offers interior and drive-up climate-controlled storage, as well as U-Box portable moving and storage services. Under the U-Box program, customers can use portable storage units to store items in a U-Haul secure warehouse or have them delivered to a location of their choice.

"With the demand for self-storage growing, we are excited to have the opportunity to expand our presence in Minot with this new self-storage facility and look forward to continuing our long-standing relationships with local communities throughout North Dakota," said Shawn Odden, president of U-Haul Co. of Fargo.

The facility, 2505 N. Broadway, has 24-hour security with controlled access and digital video surveillance. Customers can purchase environmentally friendly packing supplies including boxes made from recyclable materials, biodegradable packing peanuts and moving pads made from recycled denim. The facility also offers U-Hauls Take a Box/Leave a Box program, which allows customers or anyone in the community to leave moving boxes or unwanted electronics boxes for other customers to reuse for free.

Established in 1945, U-Haul has 36 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,000 owned and managed facilities throughout North America.

A proposed zoning amendment under consideration in Marco Island, Fla., would enable Progressive Auto Storage to add traditional self-storage units to its vehicle-storage business, but the petition is opposed by some neighboring self-storage operators. Those in opposition believe the change would give Progressive Auto an unfair advantage in the market.

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

If the councilmen let him do self-storage, like I do, itll wipe me out because I couldnt afford to compete with that big building when I only have a few (49) units, said Tony Pinto, owner of A Pinto Self Storage.

The proposal was previously voted down on April 5 by the Marco Island Planning Board, but Mike Kelly Sr., the father of Progressive Auto Owner Mike Kelly Jr., filed a petition that will bring the amendment before the board today for the second time. Regardless of how the board votes, the issue will ultimately be decided by the Marco Island City Council, according to the source.

The amendment was supported in March by the citys planning department, which said there are already instances where C-5 use is conditionally permitted in C-4 zones, including open-rack boat-storage facilities.

The self-storage real estate partnership of Barker Pacific Group and Artemis Real Estate Partners Fund I recently acquired Security Self Storage in Rohnert Park, Calif., as the third property in the groups portfolio.

The eight-building, 64,675-square-foot complex is on 3.2 acres and features 629 rentable units. The facility, 601 Martin Ave. in Sonoma County, was purchased for $5.4 million and is currently 87 percent occupied. It will be rebranded as Storage Solutions.

Conveniently close to Sonoma State University, Security Self Storage is a strong addition to the Storage Solutions portfolio, said Jae Ho, chief operating officer of Storage Solutions. It boasts an appealing variety of unit layouts, with each unit easily accessible for customers.

Over the next several months, the company plans to install a network of security cameras throughout the facility, as well as a new gate-security system for keypad access. The existing rental office will be expanded to offer moving supplies.

Storage Solutions is Barker Pacific Groups self-storage division, originally operating under Union Development Co. (UDC). UDC maintained 21 Storage Solutions in Southern California until the portfolio was sold to a real estate investment trust in 2011. Barker Pacific Group relaunched the brand last year and plans to expand throughout California, company officials said.

Barker Pacific Group acquired Global Self Storage in Norco, Calif., earlier this year as part of its joint venture with Artemis, as well as King Road Self-Storage Facility last April in San Jose, Calif., for $8.5 million.

Founded 28 years ago, Barker Pacific Group is comprised of real estate professionals active in asset management, acquisitions and development of commercial projects, including self-storage.

Artemis Real Estate Partners is a real estate investment management firm that has raised $736 million of investor capital across the Artemis Fund I and The New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Extra Space Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust, has released a mobile app for customers using devices with iOS and Android operating systems. The app includes account-management features for existing storage customers including bill payment, auto-pay selection, account history, profile contact information and gate-code access.

The app enables customers to take and save photos of items stored in their units, offers storage tips, and allows direct communication with Extra Space via Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

"The ability to transact business on the go is becoming increasingly important, so we are now offering this mobile app as another convenient option for our customers," said James Overturf, chief marketing officer. "This new application will allow our customers to stay organized and manage their account in a way that is consistent with today's mobile lifestyle."

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, 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.

As part of its company-wide branding initiatives, Storage Post Self Storage recently renovated its facility in Yonkers, N.Y. The multi-story storage building at 131 Saw Mill River Road received extensive updates to the interior and exterior that dramatically alter its appearance, the company said.

Beginning in 2012, Storage Post's leadership team focused on revamping and upgrading some of its properties in New York and Louisiana. The renovations for the Yonkers facility, which began last fall, included the office, first floor units, fresh paint, updated lighting, remodeled restrooms and loading bays, and a new freight elevator.

When we target a property for renovations, we evaluate the location for the best ways to add convenience and create a welcoming atmosphere, said Bill Marsh, vice president of real estate. "We emphasize functional changes, but with an eye for the customer's final experience. An aesthetic refresh can have a tremendous impact in these older buildings, especially when coupled with the most up-to-date technology."

The self-storage facility was built in 1918 and converted from an industrial warehouse. Going beyond structural and branding changes, Storage Post added a 24-hour storage kiosk to the foyer so customers can rent units and make payments even when the office is closed. The Yonkers location also features packing supplies, motion-sensor lighting, onsite parking and 24-hour video recording.

Storage Post is pursuing an aggressive renovation schedule for its properties nationwide. The company said it expects occupancy growth, increased inquiries and additional consumer interest due to the facility improvements.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Storage Post has locations along the East Coast and throughout the South, and is actively pursuing self storage acquisitions.

By Lucien G. Canton 

When the first hijacked plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Robert Scott, president and chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley-Dean Whittier, was at 3 World Trade Center addressing 400 members of the National Association of Business Economists. Scott evacuated the building just in time to watch a second aircraft slam into the South Tower, which he knew housed his company offices and several thousand employees.

By 9:30 a.m. he and his senior executives had convened at a backup site that became their command center. The decisions made by Scott and his team that day would make Morgan Stanley a case study in successful crisis management and would enhance Scotts reputation as a leader.

Whats the difference between a Morgan Stanley and less successful companies? Why do some organizations come out of crisis with enhanced reputations while others may not even survive as a business? While the reasons are many and varied, it frequently comes down to three main areas:

• Failure to consider the human factor
• Failure to gather adequate information to support decision-making
• Failure to act quickly and decisively

These failures are so common that they suggest the following three keys to successful crisis management.

Recognize You Are Your Own Worst Problem

Too often in preparing for crisis, people tend to ignore the human factor. Understanding human nature and how people react to crisis is one of the fundamental keys to crisis management. No matter how much information on risks theyre given, people dont believe a crisis will happen to them. They may understand it intellectually, but viscerally, they dont think it will happen. This hampers their willingness to prepare.

When confronted with a crisis, a persons first reaction is denial. They often dont recognize a disaster is occurring. This leads to a hesitation to act. Theres also a tendency to normalize crisis, that is, to see what one expects to see rather than whats actually occurring. Its easy to misinterpret or completely miss indicators that a crisis is imminent or occurring. These indicators may be obvious after the fact but are easily missed during the event.

Good Information Is Essential to Good Decision-Making

The second phase people experience when confronted with a crisis is deliberationthe need to seek corroboration about what has occurred or is occurring, and to consider courses of action. There are, however, problems inherent in this process. Most information available in the early stages of a crisis is fragmentary, contradictory and unreliable. There can also be a considerable volume of information available, most of it not really helpful. Sorting through this mess requires an understanding of what information is important and why its needed by decision-makers.

A common failing in crisis is the tendency to seek only information that confirms what the crisis team thinks is happening or expects to see happening. It, therefore, misses the true nature of the crisis and makes decisions that can be counterproductive or flat out wrong.

The paradox of information collection is decision-making is improved with the more information you have; however, there will never be a situation where you have all the information needed. At some point, youll have to make decisions based on incomplete information. So collection cannot become an end in itself that delays decision-making.

Act Decisively

Overcoming denial and moving through deliberation leads to action. In most cases, the quicker youre seen to act and provide information on the crisis and your actions, the more likely you are to mitigate the effects of the catastrophe. Effective action depends on two elements:

• Create a crisis-management team. The first action is to isolate the crisis by identifying a crisis-management team and dedicate them solely to the event at hand. Other parts of your organization can be devoted to business as usual, but your crisis-management team must be focused exclusively on the disaster and have the authority and resources necessary to act.
• Act quickly. Speed is essential, particularly in crisis communications. Depending on the nature of your organization, you may have only minutes to get your story out. Even if its just acknowledging the crisis has occurred and that youre assessing the situation, its critical the public, your employees and your shareholders hear from you. Acting quickly, demonstrating empathy with anyone affected by the crisis and, above all, being honest can go a long way to countering the negative effects of a crisis.

Surviving a crisis requires you quickly recognize and accept its occurring, gather sufficient information to make decisions regarding the crisis, and move quickly to implement those decisions. Incorporating these three keys into your preparations for crisis may not guarantee success, but theyll certainly go a long way to preventing failures.

  Lucien G. Canton is a consultant specializing in preparing managers to lead better in crisis by understanding the human factors often overlooked in crisis planning. A popular speaker and lecturer, hes the author of Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs. For more information, e-mail [email protected] ; visit www.luciencanton.com .

MoveNetwork, a website that helps people find deals on moving and storage services, has created a nationwide database of self-storage facilities to help its users find storage and request quotes for space. The database only includes pre-screened, professional storage providers whose credentials and reputation have been checked thoroughly, according to a press release. Their performance is reviewed at regular intervals.

MoveNetwork is a free, no-obligation service for consumers. Users can search by area and facility amenities. They can compare quotes and read online reviews before requesting a quote.

MoveNetwork was established in 2001. In addition to its database, it provides an online guide that contains practical tips and advice for people who are moving.

Philip Burks, who co-founded U.K. self-storage operator Big Yellow in 1998, will retire from his current role as non-executive director during the companys annual general meeting on July 19. He will be replaced by Georgina Harvey, who will serve as an independent non-executive director and have a seat on the company's audit, remuneration and nomination committees.

"Philip and I started work together in 1986 and have been in partnership now for over 25 years. It has been the best of partnerships, said Nicholas Vetch, executive chairman of Big Yellow Group PLC. Without Philip's property skills and tenacity, Big Yellow could not have achieved a fraction of its successes. The board joins me in wishing him the best for the future.

Harvey previously served as managing director, regionals division, for British newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror from 2005 to 2012, overseeing its transition to a digital platform. She started her media career at Express Newspapers PLC, where she was appointed advertising director in 1994. She is currently non-executive director of William Hill PLC, a U.K. bookmaker providing gaming and betting products across multiple channels, including retail, online and mobile devices.

We are delighted to welcome Georgina to the board. She brings extensive and diverse experience from the worlds of media, retail and leisure, Vetch said. As Big Yellow's fortunes and successes increasingly lie with the Internet, her experience will be of great value."

Big Yellow Group PLC operates 66 self-storage locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage brand name, with most concentrated in Greater London. The portfolio comprises 4.2 million square feet.