A driver was seriously injured after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into A1 Shelters Self-Storage in Cape Coral, Fla., on Tuesday evening. The gold-colored Nissan Murano was headed south on Chiquita Boulevard at about 6:30 p.m., near the intersection with S.W. 44th Street, according to witnesses. The vehicle veered off the road and ran over palm trees before slamming into the building at 4432 Chiquita Blvd. S. Photos from the accident show the building was damaged in two places.

The unidentified driver was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital. An update on the person’s condition hasn’t been released, and the accident is still under investigation.

A1 Shelters operates four facilities in Cape Coral and another in North Fort Meyers, Fla. A division of The Kirby Family Properties, the family-owned and -operated business was established in 1975.

Source:
NBC2.com, Driver Seriously Hurt After Car Slams Into Building in Cape Coral

When it comes to the basic elements of self-storage contract law, two common questions often arise: What does it take for a contract to be valid? And, do both parties have to speak and read the same language for a contract to be binding? The crux of the answers relates to customer competency.

In general, a legally binding contract requires four things:

• An offer
• An acceptance
• Competency to contract
• Consideration

A person must be of the age of majority (the threshold of adulthood as recognized or declared in law) to be considered an adult and able to enter a contract. In most states, that age is 18, but it can vary. In Alabama, for example, it’s 19. A self-storage operator cannot enter a rental agreement with someone who’s under the age of majority in the state where the facility is located. The contract could be voided as unenforceable because one of the parties wouldn’t be considered “competent.”

This issue comes up most often in college towns when students seek to rent storage units between semesters. Though it’s uncommon for the person executing the contract to be under 18, you must verify the customer’s age if there’s any doubt. If the renter is under the age of majority, a parent or guardian must sign the lease for it to be legally binding.

The Issue of Language

The other issue concerning competency is when the person entering the agreement doesn’t speak English. Generally, if a customer signs a contract, he’s deemed to have read and understood it. As such, he’ll be bound to it, even if he didn’t communicate in the language in which the contract is written.

There’s a statutory presumption in most states that unless a contract was acquired through fraud, deceit or undue influence, if signed, it expresses the party’s intention to agree to its terms. The law clearly states that though a person may be unable to read the contract, it creates no supposition that he’s ignorant of the contents.

Still, there have been challenges to this determination over the years, with some arguing that if one of the parties didn’t understand what he signed, there couldn’t be a “meeting of the minds” on the contract terms. That argument has been outweighed by the more common presumption stated above, yet it’s smart to avoid any potential confusion when your customer may not read English. In these cases, establish some simple policies to help the person deal with any obstacles to contracting.

Although your inclination may be to try to explain the agreement, this could be dangerous to your self-storage business, since your explanation may not be consistent, or could be ambiguous or misunderstood. The better policy is to suggest the customer enlist an English-speaking friend or lawyer to help him understand the obligations of the contract before he signs. Based on the frequency of the issue, it may even be appropriate to create a translated contract in the language that’s most prevalent in the area where you do business.

Again, don’t take it upon yourself to translate or explain the agreement to the customer. Though you want to avoid any later claim that the tenant was coerced into signing, it would be better for the customer to leave the facility with the contract and return later with it signed.

Whether your customer may be under the age of majority or a non-English speaker, the best way to avoid challenges to contract validity is to ask the right questions at the time of the rental and do everything within your power to help the person understand and meet the terms.

Note: This article was originally published in the author’s July 2017 “Legal Monthly Minute” Newsletter.

Scott I. Zucker is a founding partner in the Atlanta law firm of Weissmann Zucker Euster Morochnik & Garber P.C. and has been practicing law since 1987. He represents self-storage owners and managers throughout the country on legal matters including property development, facility construction, lease preparation, employment policies and tenant-claims defense. He also provides, on a consulting basis, advice to self-storage companies in the areas of foreclosure and lien sales, premises liability, and loss-control safeguards. To reach him, call 404.364.4626; e-mail [email protected].

Every self-storage operator has at least a few “platinum” tenants. These customers have not only been with you for a long time, they’ve been good renters, sticking around through price increases, property upgrades and even changes in management. Some refer prospects to you. They may even help keep the property clean and assist with site vigilance. But what’s the trick in retaining these tenants? Do they deserve something for this loyalty? If so, what should it be?

In a recent thread on Self-Storage Talk, the industry’s largest online community, members discuss ways to show appreciation to these highly desirable tenants. What simple acts can you make to communicate their importance? From coffee and donuts to rental discounts to more creative rewards, see what others are doing and add your own ideas.

Storage Deluxe, a Manhattan, N.Y.-based self-storage owner and developer, has acquired a large lot in Bushwick, N.Y., on which it intends to build a new, seven-story facility. The $45.5 million deal includes an 80,000-square-foot vacant warehouse at 74 Bogart St., but the company is expected to raze the structure and replace it with a 200,000-square-foot structure containing 4,000 units. The $50 million development will take up an entire city block, according to the source. It’s expected to open in fall 2021 and will be managed by self-storage real estate investment trust CubeSmart.

“After careful analysis based on decades of experience in the New York metro area, we are excited to acquire one of the most prominent development sites in all of Brooklyn,” said Daniel Alvarez, director of acquisitions, in a press release.

“We look forward to offering convenient storage options for the growing Bushwick community,” added Steven Novenstein, co-founder and president. “Storage is especially important for small businesses, and we expect approximately 40 percent of our customers will come from this sector.”

The Bushwick property is Storage Deluxe’s fifth acquisition in the last 12 months. In April, it acquired a former document-storage center in Stamford, Conn., for $5.5 million, which it plans to convert to self-storage. In all, its development pipeline includes 11 storage projects comprising 1.5 million square feet. The company has also completed construction on six ground-up developments during the same period, adding 830,000 square feet to its portfolio, the release stated.

Founded in 1998, Storage Deluxe has 65 projects completed and in development, totaling 7 million square feet.

Source:
Crain’s New York Business, Self-Storage Builder Strikes Deal for $100M Development

A 50-year-old man died on Friday afternoon after suffering medical issues that caused him to crash his car into New London Self-Storage in New London, Conn. The unidentified man first hit the building at 960 Bank St. and then slammed into a metal sign pole.

Witnesses pulled the driver from the car and performed CPR before first responders arrived just after 2:30 p.m., said New London Fire Battalion Chief Roger Tompkins. The man was the only person in the vehicle, according to investigators. He was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said New London Police Capt. Brian Wright. The accident is still under investigation.

Police closed part of Bank Street and rerouted drivers until 5:30 p.m. while they investigated the crash.

The newly opened storage facility offers drive-up and temperature-controlled units. Security features include keypad entry, perimeter fencing and video cameras.

Sources:
The Day, Man Dies After Apparent Medical Issue Lands Car in Sign on Bank Street
New London Self Storage, Website

Rental downturns are being predicted for the self-storage industry, so the more marketing intelligence facility operators have, the better off they’ll be. Increasing rentals begins with the user, i.e., your prospective tenant. If he has a bad experience with your website—he can’t find what he’s looking for, your specials are confusing, or you don’t display rates online—he’ll simply go elsewhere. All it takes is a jump back to Google to find another facility that provides what he wants.

For this reason, it’s vital to ensure that every user who visits your website gets the information he needs to make a rental decision. You must make his online experience effortless or risk losing the sale.

Mastering the Search

To start, consider the search engine results page (SERP). Most users will type in some combination of “self-storage” with their city or “near me.” The results will display three to four ads, a pack of local businesses with a map, and organic results. While some people will confidently click on the first result they see, others do their shopping exclusively within the Google’s Local Pack. Still others will consciously avoid clicking ads or maps and scroll down to organic results.

What I’ve seen during my work in the industry is 85 percent of Google search traffic comes from three sections of the SERP: Ads account for 15 percent, brand keywords for 35 percent, and Google Maps for 35 percent. These are your best chances to get in front of users, so it’s important to be as visible as possible in these areas.

For users who choose to shop and compare with Google Maps, your greatest priority should be how you stack up against your nearest competitors, as these facilities will be listed beside yours when shoppers zoom in. They’ll compare your site with others in terms of rates, unit sizes and other features that matter to them, which might include climate control, security and other amenities.

Self-storage customers tend to prioritize location and price, so it’s important to analyze your competitors’ rates and special offers. That’s precisely what each user is doing. He’s opening pages and hopping between websites to see who has the size he wants at the best price. This type of behavior is perceived by the search engine as “user signals. It uses these queues to help inform its ranking algorithm, deciding which landing pages are most valuable and should rank first.

The purpose of Google search is to provide the user with information necessary to complete an action easily. If people are looking for storage in your area and visit your page only to return to the SERP, it tells Google your page isn’t relevant or valuable for those trying to complete this task. This would cause your website to rank lower in search results, which could precipitate fewer site visits and rentals. On the other hand, user signals can go in your favor when you prioritize the website experience and give the prospect the information he needs to make a quick decision.

Improving Your Conversion Rate

Even if your facility is nicer and cleaner than your competitors and your managers are friendlier, online users aren’t likely to see this upon their first search. They’re just comparing site to site, rate page to rate page. Self-storage prospects are primarily looking for a neat, organized landing page that prioritizes the information they need to make a rental decision. It could include prices, specials, unit sizes, features, office hours and location. What tips the scales in your favor might be something as simple as your reservation calendar, so every detail counts.

So, how do you improve your online user experience to convert more prospects to customers? I like to refer to the LIFT Model developed by Chris Goward, author of “You Should Test That!” It outlines six factors to consider when evaluating your website landing pages: value proposition, urgency, relevance, clarity, distraction and anxiety. Let’s look at what each of these means in relation to storage customers.

Your value proposition is what convinces people to rent. It’s the most important of the six factors, the one that provides the potential for prospect-to-tenant conversion.

Urgency dictates how careful a user’s search will be. If he’s going through a life event and needs storage in the next few days, he’s likely to choose quickly without much deliberation. If he’s planning farther in advance, he’ll be much more scrupulous, and the other landing-page factors will be much more important.

Relevance means a landing page properly fits the terms used in the search. For example, let’s say a user is looking for “climate-controlled self-storage.” If your facility is in his city and offers climate-controlled units, he’s likely to find you over other storage businesses that don’t offer this service.

Clarity relates to the quality of information. Is it clear where you’re located, what unit sizes you offer, and what your rates and specials are? If the user has to work too hard to find these details, he’s likely to bounce back to the SERP to find a business that clearly offers this information.

Distraction occurs when there’s information on a page that doesn’t relate to what the user is seeking. For example, if your rates page presents a large block of text about your company and its managers before displaying rates, you’re distracting the user.

Causes of anxiety for prospective tenants are when they get a message that their browser is insecure, or if they get a demand somewhere on the page, such as a credit card being required for a reservation.

In sum, don’t look at your website user through “this is what I would do” glasses, which can cost you dearly in revenue. Instead, take a fresh look at your landing pages. Can you easily find the most important information a prospect might seek? If not, it may be time to make some changes to your website.

Christopher Baird is co-founder of Automatit Inc., a Google Certified Premier Partner that manages more than 500 websites and has been listed as one of the fastest growing companies in America on the Inc. 5000 for the last several years. Chris has been involved in website development and marketing since 1996, and has helped storage operators build their Internet marketing programs for more than 13 years. For more information, call 520.293.4608; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.automatit.net.

Storage Star, a self-storage operator with locations in five states, broke ground last week on a new facility in Napa, Calif., that will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy and equipped with high-tech features. The property at 300 Devlin Road will comprise 618 units. It’s expected to open July 1, 2020, according to a press release.

The company has partnered with Marin Clean Energy to produce power through a nearly 1-megawatt solar rooftop installation. Tech features will include unit monitoring and smartphone-enabled access, along with other security measures, the release stated.

“Napa Valley is a vibrant, growing community that deserves modern, high-quality self-storage at a reasonable price,” said Matt Garibaldi, president. “Our new facility will provide the most technologically advanced security features available in the market today. When combined with our solar installation, we believe our new facility provides an excellent example of quality and stewardship that new real estate developments should bring to the Valley.”

Roseville, Calif.-based Thomastown Builders Inc. is overseeing the planning, development and construction of the project.

Based in California, Storage Star operates 20 self-storage facilities in California, Colorado, Texas, Utah and Washington. Its portfolio comprises 1.6 million net rentable square feet in more than 12,000 units. It’s owned by FollettUSA, a boutique real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition, development and management of residential communities, self-storage and other properties for the private portfolios of high-net-worth families and institutional investors.

When Northpoint Development sought to build a new Beyond Self Storage (BSS) facility on a premium yet physically challenging parcel in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., an affluent, hilly suburb of Pittsburgh, it had to create an economical, creative design solution to make it work. The land was notoriously vacant. No developer wanted to touch it due to its many drawbacks.

“We first looked at the property in October 2016 and loved the location, but immediately realized the development hurdles of the site—the steep grade, the irregular shape, and the proximity to a creek and a rail line,” says JJ Jenkins, project manager.

The site sits within the Castle Shannon Boulevard commercial corridor and is easily visible and accessible by heavily trafficked Mt. Lebanon Boulevard. However, while Northpoint aims to build facilities of 105,000 to 145,000 square feet, this site measured only 1.62 acres (a little over 70,000 square feet). With approximately 40 feet from the road to the back of the site, maximizing square footage would be key. Never giving in to a challenge, the company was determined to find success.

Tackling Obstacles

While the Northpoint sourcing team was quietly plugging away at site selection in various markets, the company saw the need to create an in-house team of architects to support its efforts. It formed studioNorth Architecture in 2015 to generate site plans, building layouts and renderings for all its projects. Having an in-house team allowed Northpoint to expedite the Mt. Lebanon project and troubleshoot the awkward parcel.

“We reviewed many schemes that involved accessing the site down an entrance to the lower elevation, but this left very little area for the building,” says Tim Holliday, project manager. “By examining the code, which allowed multiple lower levels, studioNorth was able to recommend a four-level structure, giving us the square footage we needed to make the land work.”

With the space problem resolved, the team moved on to address the next hurdle. Future customers would need to access the building and drive aisle from one of two points on the site, and neither appeared ideal. “The next step was figuring out how to lay the building out to allow for the multi-level structure, but also allow easy access from the road without any elevation drop,” Holliday says.

Initial designs featured a never-before-attempted elevated drive aisle on a concrete deck supported by concrete piles. However, once the construction team was assembled and ready to go, Holliday and his team reconsidered. “We asked, ‘Is this the right design? Are we missing something? Should we re-evaluate our options?’ That turned out to be a great decision, and a week later, we had scrapped the initial design and re-examined the retaining-wall option,” he says.

studioNorth approached the design by essentially flipping a typical multi-story structure upside down. “A lot of the design considerations took this into account, including the front façade, egress paths, elevator design, office and storage-space relationships, how an end user would orient [himself] within the building, vehicular traffic, and the overall presentation to the user,” says project architect Kevin Polit.

Though it was a departure from previous BSS projects, Northpoint made careful design choices to attract interest and make the building “belong” in the neighborhood. These included a jewel-toned minimalist teal awning—now a signature element for BSS builds—a tinted-glass storefront, and various façade textures with multiple roof lines.

Starting Construction

After many layout revisions and months of working through design hurdles, the project received entitlement and permit approvals. The official groundbreaking took place in September 2017, and three months later, the team pushed forward with construction, partnering with AI. Neyer LLC as the general contractor.

Now it was time to put the retaining-wall plan into action. By erecting a vertical, wood-lag wall that separates the multi-level storage building from the drive aisle at the street level, the team was able to push most of the building to the back of the site while allowing the office, drive aisle and parking areas to remain at ground level. The 30-foot-high wall is reinforced with tie-backs and concrete planks.

“In addition, the perimeter wall of our building and the retaining wall were also redesigned to be precast to give us more structural stability and waterproofing. Amazingly, this design turned out to be more economical than our original plan, and was a simple design and structure,” Holliday says. This build modification ended up being a win-win.

Learning Lessons

Had NorthPoint not pushed the envelope with a team that was ready and willing to find solutions, the Mt. Lebanon project might not have come to fruition. But with a core value of “Take ownership of every situation,” the company and its partners commonly focus on lessons learned, encouraging employees to actively examine and reflect upon teaching moments.

“The biggest lesson learned from the design-construction stage [of this project] would be to keep asking questions and challenge your assumptions,” Holliday says. “Additionally, when budgeting complicated designs and projects, add some room in the schedule to deal with those complications.”

After a year of construction, BSS opened in January. The climate-controlled facility offers 824 units, a meeting room and drive-through loading. It has controlled access and security cameras, and a retail store that sells moving and packing supplies. Customers and even curious residents often stop in to chat with staff and tour the “underground” storage area. This is what BSS is all about—being a partner and resource for the communities it serves.

Nicholle McKenzie is a marketing manager for Northpoint Development, which operates 11 Beyond Self Storage facilities and has 18 more under development or contract. She assists with content creation in addition to new project openings, paid advertising campaigns and marketing outreach. For more information, call 866.955.5761; visit www.beyondselfstorage.com. 

Theresa Bahnemann, manager of the STORExpress facility in Murrysville, Pa., was named “2019 Manager of the Year” last month by the Pennsylvania Self Storage Association (PASSA) during its annual meeting and conference. Bahnemann has managed the Murrysville property at 6335 William Penn Highway for three years. She’s credited with growing the facility’s physical occupancy by more than 25 percent in 2018. Move-ins also increased by an average of 11 per month, while customer reviews jumped 24 percent, during the same period, according to the PASSA.

“Theresa made tremendous strides in growing her personal and professional skillset, becoming a leader in the community, joining several professional groups, leading a charity drive and immersing herself and her team with the local economy to build lasting relationships,” the PASSA posted on its website.

Bahnemann also oversaw a $100,000 upgrade to the property’s exterior.

She was honored for her “demonstration of excellent service delivery and passion to ensure that the needs of customers are not only met but surpassed,” STORExpress officials said in a press release. The annual award recognizes superior performance, exemplary customer service and contributions to the self-storage industry, the release stated.

Bahnemann began her career with STORExpress in July 2011, according to her LinkedIn page.

Founded in 1998, STORExpress operates one self-storage facility in Ohio and 11 locations serving Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. Its portfolio comprises more than 1.3 million net rentable square feet.

Sources:
Digital Journal, STORExpress Wins the Prestigious Pennsylvania Self Storage Association Award
Pennsylvania Self Storage Association, PASSA Manager of the Year Announced at the 2019 Annual Meeting and Conference