Storage Express of Lancaster, Calif., will host a customer-appreciation day and charity yard sale on July 9, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Super Sale is open to the public. People interested in selling goods can rent storage space for the day for $10 to $20, with all proceeds being donated to the Childrens Bureau, which provides support for the children of Antelope Valley.

The event will include free food, prizes and entertainment. In addition, Storage Express will be putting $1,000 into an empty unit. The person who rents that unit to store their belongings wins the cash.

Were really excited about our annual Super Sale in July. This year is extra special because were also celebrating our 10-year anniversary, said Rob Martin, president of Storage Express.

Childrens Bureau aims to change the lives of at-risk children by providing abuse-prevention and -treatment services.

Storage Express operates three self-storage facilities. The Lancaster facility is at 2103 West Ave. J. The other two facilities are in Palmdale and Temecula, Calif.

The owner of Maple Village Self Storage in Ann Arbor, Mich., was cleared last week of negligence charges relating to a customers death in 2005.

The estate of Anthony B. Lagos, who died at the self-storage site when he accidentally locked himself in his car trunk, sued facility owner William Davis III in Washtenaw County Trial Court. The plaintiff claimed Davis was negligent for not discovering that Lagos had trapped himself in his 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme while fixing a taillight. Lagos stored his vehicle at the facility.

Davis was originally found guilty by a Washtenaw County judge, but the Michigan Appeals Court overturned that decision, saying Davis had no duty to inspect the trunk of Lagos car, which was parked outside his unit. According to the court documents, requiring Davis to open the trunk of vehicle parked on the premises after hours is outside the scope of any inspection duty assumed by Davis, especially where it was not foreseeable that Lagos would be injured if such an inspection were not undertaken.

Chesterland Mini Storage in Chester Township, Ohio, hosted a flea market June 11 to benefit the Chesterland Chamber of Commerces beautification program.

The annual event, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 11695 Chillicothe Road, included community crafts and antiques. Admission was $1 for those 12 and older. Admission also included the chance to win prizes. Community members were invited to sell crafts, antiques and other items. A limited number of covered, lockable display areas were available. Donations were also accepted for door prizes and drawings that were held throughout the day.

The Chesterland Chamber of Commerce has served the needs of its community since 1962. The commerces membership is comprised of individuals, businesses and organizations residing or conduct business in Chester Township and the surrounding areas. The beautification program raises funds to support the citys banners and other community projects.

Extra Space Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd is experiencing rapid growth in Singapore since opening its first self-storage facility in the country in 2007.

The company began with one 268,131-square-foot facility, and now has five, totaling 617,000 square feet. According to the company, it gains about 3,000 new tenants each year.

Extra Space Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd is jointly owned by CEO Michael Hagbeck and Lazard Limited and Boustead Holdings, a listed Singaporean company, and run by chief financial officer Kenny Tham, and general manager of operations, Jeannie Sng. The company is also a member of the Self Storage Association of Australasia and the Singapore Business Federation.

With a background in wine storage in Sydney, Hagbeck had originally set out to open wine storage in Singapore, but soon realized there was a broader need for self-storage. Extra Space Singapores tenants are mix of commercial and residential, along with wine storage. Singaporeans are also embracing more hobbies, creating a need for storage.

Self-storage in Singapore is similar to that of the United States and in Europe, with a variety of unit sizes, video surveillance and controlled access through personal codes.

Extra Space has the largest walk-in wine storage facility in Singapore. The companys locations on Boon Keng Road and Eunos Link have lockers and walk-in cellars that can accommodate up to 400 cases. Complimentary tasting rooms are also available.

In May 2011, Terry L. Huber announced he was retiring from his post as president and chief operating officer at BETCO Inc., a single-source manufacturer of self-storage buildings. A native of New Athens, Ill., Huber has spent a lifetime in the metal-building business. He joined BETCO in 1995 as vice president of manufacturing, later became president, then president and chief operating officer.

Inside Self-Storage caught up with Huber to recap his career with the BETCO and talk about the future of self-storage construction and development.

Tell us about your early years at BETCO.

I first became involved in the manufacturing of self-storage buildings in 1985. At that time, the typical building was 20 by 30 feet wide, no insulation or vapor barrier, and the average-size job was about 3,000 square feet. The business was just beginning to be recognized as having a much better return on investment than traditional real estate. When Wall Street made this discovery, competition increased and more and more investors came into the business.

How has the business evolved?

In the late 1990s, the business model grew into wider buildings with larger per-unit storage capacity, and then eventually evolved into bi-level buildings and climate-controlled units for customers who needed a humidity-controlled environment for certain storage items.

Due to the escalation of land costs and the scarcity of available land, multi-story buildings started to appear in the eastern half of the United States in the early part of the new millennium. Building height, size and complexity continues to grow every year. The industry has presented a continuous challenge to its suppliers to meet the growing demands.

What challenges do self-storage developers face today?

The major challenge for todays self-storage developer is two-fold: Finding property at a reasonable price and location, and being able to secure financing. The Great Recession tightened available financing to the point that new construction suffered. As a consequence, potential new owners were sidelined, and existing owners had to resort to modest expenditures on refurbishing their facilities or adding another phase.  

What do you predict for the industry on the next five years?

The need for additional self-storage will continue to grow as the economy heals and financing again becomes more available. This means competition will increase. Even today, there are six to eight competitors in the average self-storage market. This will eventually translate to certain markets becoming mature. It also means owners will need to be smarter and more willing to spend additional dollars on ancillary services to attract customers.

Whats next for you?

I have immensely enjoyed myself at BETCO, and helping to meet the challenges of an industry that has had a rapid growth since its inception in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I intend to continue working with BETCO on special projects and consulting. Additionally, I have dusted off my golf clubs and found the fishing gear, and will be moving to Little River, S.C., along with my wife and two Yorkies to begin the honey to-do list she started many years ago.

By Foy & Co. Investment Real Estate Services

In Canada, portable storage has become an increasingly popular storage option for consumers. While its certainly not replacing traditional self-storage facilities, it is a growing section of the industry, offering an additional short-term storage option.

Having worked with a few portable-storage companies on acquisitions and financing, were impressed with this increasingly popular business model. That said, there are still points to consider before a storage operator decides to jump on the bandwagon.

1.      In Canada, the portable storage business is still somewhat in its infancy. The model is considered a cross between a moving business and a self-storage business.

2.      A number of self-storage operators are interested in this emerging segment, and a throng of companies are flooding the portable-storage market. As a result, margins will become increasingly pressured as businesses compete for profit.

3.      Portable storage requires warehouse space to store units, and the location of the warehouse is important. Owners generally look for convenient locations close to a major artery for effective access and efficient delivery to target populations.

4.      Staffing a portable-storage company is much more intensive than traditional self-storage. There are more logistics, and the number of trucks you own will factor into the number of clients youre able to accommodate each month. Additionally the business requires more maintenance staff plus drivers, which increases overall scheduling and payroll.

Before jumping into portable storage, facility operators need to be aware of the initial hurdles and uncertainties that come with the emergence of this new industry niche.

Financing

Traditional loans continue to be hard to come by unless you have a very strong track record, personal guarantees, or the leverage is below 50 percent. There doesnt appear to be a set formula for obtaining capital, and each bank has its own criteria. Loan terms can be quite specific, and self-storage hasnt been on the radar for most banks when trying to match investment opportunity with corporate goals. That said, theres been a slight increase in the availability of capital from banks compared to last year.

The biggest concern for Canadian self-storage is the amount of loans coming due in the near future, and lack of available funding options. Refinancing will be a struggle as primary lenders look only at the best deals, leaving the rest to find more expensive or alternative financing solutions.

Development

Portable-storage development projects that received financing before the economic downturn are continuing as planned. However, most projects appear to be focused on building additions to existing facilities rather than developing new ones.

Many development projects that failed to receive loans before the downturn have been shelved due to lack of financing. Finding capital has been a major stumbling block, and many groups have had to struggle under the burden of debt.

Acquisitions

The real estate market has seen significantly less activity over the past two years. People are holding tight to equity. Low sales are likely being driven by lower leverages on bank loans and owners who are unwilling to reduce asking prices.

There are properties listed, but they are struggling to find buyers due to the reasons listed above or poor operation. The few properties that have traded hands have done so with cap rates ranging from sub-8 percent all the way up to 10-plus percent.

Another factor that has affected the Canadian market is the lack of interest by large companies in expanding portfolios. Two of Canadas largest storage players are shying away from acquisitions to focus their efforts internally. The Hughes family, owners of Public Storage Canadian Properties, just bought out its shareholders. TKG-StorageMart Partners, another large Canadian operator, is working hard to stabilize its purchase of InStorage Real Estate Investment Trust by focusing on operations rather than aggressively pursuing acquisitions.

Operations

Stable, consistent, well-run operations are more important now than ever. A facilitys rates and occupancies need to constantly outperform the market if the business is going to succeed. If operations are not top-notch, the facility will not grow in value. As a result, obtaining any required financing will be a significant challenge.

The best operations continually find innovative ways to get consumers through the front door, including helping local charities and events, offering concessions for storage, participating in sporting events, and even trips. Stable facilities are investing more in staff training and additional consumer perks such as traffic cameras. These companies are also scaling back on Yellow Pages advertisements. Advertising is taking on new, cost-effective forms such as social media.

Opportunities for breaking into the Canada portable-storage market exist but will require realistic expectations and diligence on behalf of operators. If you can secure the necessary financing and an appropriate location, as well as deal with increased competition and logistical requirements, it can be a successful niche venture.

Foy & Co. Investment Real Estate Services specializes in equity raising and brokerage services for the Canadian self-storage market. For more information, visit www.foyco.ca.

American Self Storage sold one of its self-storage facilities in New York to Public Storage for $17 million, which represented a 5 percent cap rate. The facility is on Southern Boulevard in the Bronx.

Jack Giannola, regional acquisition manager, and Richard P. Monteforte, American Self Storage chief operating officer, oversaw the transaction. John Mercadante served as the in-house legal counsel for American Self Storage.

In the next two years, American Self Storage plans to acquire existing facilities with 75,000 square feet or greater in well-situated urban and suburban markets.

Headquartered in Tinton Falls, N.J., American Self Storage operates 12 self-storage facilities in New York and New Jersey totaling 1.2 million square feet.

Public Storage is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that primarily acquires, develops, owns and operates self-storage facilities. Headquartered in Glendale, Calif., the company has interests in 2,052 self-storage facilities in 38 states with approximately 130 million net rentable square feet in the United States, and 189 storage facilities in seven Western European nations operating under the Shurgard brand.

Janus International Corp. received final approval from the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) for its line of windload-certified doors for self-storage and commercial applications. 

TDI approval certifies that Janus doors are built to withstand the extreme weather conditions in Texas, including impact-resistant and non-impact-resistant testing. Door models approved by TDI are models 750, 850-S, 1100, 3100, 3400, 3652, SD10, ID25 and MD16.

Headquartered in Temple, Ga., Janus is a manufacturer of commercial and industrial doors and building components for an array of industries.