The self-storage portfolio held by South African commercial real estate developer Acucap Properties has grown to the point where company officials said it may be appropriate to list its self-storage assets separately from the rest of its portfolio. Last June, Acucap entered a strategic joint venture with Faircape and SA Self Storage Investments (SASSI) to develop several self-storage sites. Faircape is a property investment, development and management firm that includes Stor-Age Self Storage among its companies. SASSI is South Africas largest self-storage investment trust.

The joint venture has produced 12 operating self-storage facilities, with nine under construction and nine additional locations in the process of acquisition. The facilities will be rebranded under the Stor-Age name, according to Paul Theodosiou, Acucaps managing director. Stor-Age operates more than 20 facilities throughout South Africa, with its corporate office in Cape Town.

Together, the overall portfolio of 30 stores comprising a gross lettable area of 230,000 square meters will be valued at around [$150 million] on completion, Theodosiou said. This is close to a size considered appropriate for a separate listing.

When the companies announced the joint venture last year they planned to have 23 operational sites worth approximately $118 million.

Last week, Acucap reported a 5 percent growth in distributions over its entire portfolio for the fiscal year, which ended March 31. Revenue grew by nearly 2 percent, while the value of the companys portfolio increased 7.7 percent to approximately $792 million.

Safeguard Self Storage recently acquired its 22nd location in the New York City metropolitan self-storage market. The facility, 950 Broadway in Thornwood Village, encompasses 32,760 leasable square feet with 358 storage units in a variety of sizes. Amenities include climate-controlled units, drive-up loading area and video cameras. The Thornwood store team will be led by facility manager Georgi Turer and Daniel Dorado, assistant manager.

Safeguard completed the acquisition in 47 days from execution of the contract to closing. "The high quality of this store, matching Safeguard's superior portfolio, made completion of the acquisition easier than expected," said Michael Frosaker, senior vice president of asset management. Frosaker and James Goonan, senior vice president of development, led the effort to acquire the facility.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Safeguard Self Storage was founded in 1989 and today operates more than 60 facilities in Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The company is owned and operated by Morgan Stanleys Prime Property Fund.

Self-storage operator TI Storage has acquired a 36,000-square-foot parking lot in Manhattan, N.Y., on which it plans to develop a self-storage facility. The empty lot, 122 W. 146th St., is located just off Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive.

The facility will encompass 100,000 square feet and approximately 2,000 self-storage units. Features will include climate-controlled units, individual door alarms, video cameras and a free pick-up service. The total project cost is estimated at $20 million.

"The company has been very successful in Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey, and we are very excited about developing our first state-of-the-art facility in Manhattan, said Jack Kennedy Cayre, president.

With the most recent purchase, TI Storage now owns, has interest in and manages 11 facilities containing more than 1 million square feet of storage space and more than 12,000 self-storage units in the greater New York area. TIs most recent addition was the purchase of an 83,000-square-foot U.S. Postal Service distribution center at 78-02 Liberty Ave. in Ozone Park, Queens, which it converted to self-storage. The Liberty Avenue location is slated to open this fall.

Manhattan, N.Y.-based TI Storage is a real estate company specializing in the acquisition, development and management of self-storage properties.

By Lois Lang

When it comes to succession planning for a family business, one thing is certain: Most family business leaders dont do it, they dont do it well, or they wait to do it until its too late. While the CEO longevity in non-family businesses is an average of six years, for a family-owned business, CEOs tend to stay for 20 to 25 years. Sure, that long tenure contributes to leadership stability and consistency, but it can also fuel flat growth, narrow business focus and decrease leadership drive.

Additionally, when the CEO and other top-level executive family members do not step aside in a timely manner, it causes a high level of frustration in the next generation of staff whos ready to charge forward and make their mark. Once it becomes clear the children might reach their mid to late 50s before taking over, it becomes hard to hold on to the ambitious ones. Thats why all family businesses need to have a solid succession plan in placeone that helps the senior generation leave with ease while welcoming the well-prepared next generation.

While succession planning can happen at any level within the organization, we commonly think about the top five key positions for a written, structured succession plan. As you plan your companys future leadership, keep these points in mind.

Think Beyond Seniority

Many family business executives choose future leaders based on seniority, such as he or she is the oldest, so he/she will be our next CEO. Of course, a single owner can make the easy decision to pass the business leadership to the child of his choice.

But this easy choice can backfire if the adult child or the one with the most seniority hasnt gained respect from other family members and employees. In other words, sometimes the easy or obvious choice isnt always the best one. Therefore, be open to broadening your search beyond the next of kin.

Evaluate Key Criteria

You should also embrace a more professional process of skill evaluations, performance assessments and reviews of career history. The more thoughtful, objective and inclusive the process of bringing on the next leader is, the more likely the transition will be embraced.

Succession readiness calls for a written transition plan and an individual development plan for the future CEO within three years of the planned succession date. Implementation of the plan may involve identifying other executive team members with succession needs, building a coaching plan, and providing stretch assignments in different functional areas of the company.

Rank possible successors based on key criteria. Rather than just appoint the next oldest family member to the leadership role, consider creating a list of all the possible successors and rank them from 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) in each of the following areas:

• Past work experience and advancement history
• Education
• Geographic mobility, if appropriate
• Learning agility
• Prior leadership positions including size and scope of leadership responsibilities
• Advancement potential and desire
• Interpersonal skills
• Assessment of the individual compared to the companys values and leadership competencies
• Past performance ratings
• The ability to take risks
• Decision-making ability
• Problem-solving ability

Doing this for each potential successor will help you see whos best positioned to move the company forward. Finding a successor with the right mix of skills, attitude, drive, character and experience that matches your business will ensure the family company succeeds for the long term.

Groom the Next Generation

Once you have a successor in mind, offer him additional development through such things as job rotations, stretch assignments, additional profit-and-loss responsibility, and more exposure to customers. The more emphasis you place on prepping the next leader, the smoother the transition will be.

Consider a Non-Family Leader

When a family business member utters the words, Lets consider a non-family CEO, the first reply is usually a colorful, No! However, a non-family CEO frequently brings diverse, in-depth experience to drive business growth, bringing professional alliances, partnerships and strategy opportunities. He can be a great mentor for the next generation of family leadersoften known as a bridge CEO from one generation to the next. While the family may hold all the stock, its critical to develop a performance incentive that will reward and retain the non-family CEO and an employment agreement that will fairly treat and protect the CEO.

Choose Whos Next

Thoughtful, ongoing planning for succession is a must for long-term business success and sustainability, so start now. Develop a clear plan about the succession of senior leader positions, including who will be next, when the transition will take place, and how that successor will be groomed to make the move smoother. The more planning you do now, the better the future will befor you and your family business.

Lois Lang is a speaker and consultant with Evolve Partner Group LLC where she helps organizations become high-performance workplaces. She works with clients on management succession readiness, organizational/team strengthening, executive coaching, executive compensation design, wage studies and mediated conflict resolution. For more information, call 209.952.1143; e-mail [email protected] ; visit www.evolvepartnergroup.com .

Film producer Chad A. Verdi has announced his intentions for the sequel to Self Storage, a horror movie released earlier this year starring Eric Roberts, Jonathan Silverman and Michael Berryman. Verdis company Verdi Productions co-produced the film with Woodhaven Production Co.

We're thinking of coming back with Self Storage 2 for our next horror movie," Verdi said. Infected is doing great, but the reason for Self Storage 2 is because Eric Roberts really wants to come back and work with us.

Other names mentioned in association with the sequel include Robert Englund, Bill Moseley, Tony Todd and Silverman.

"The premise would be the one character who survives the original film will hunt down Eric Roberts because he's killed all his friends," Verdi said. "It's more of a revenge film. Then Eric goes into the underworld to hide and he meets the Tony Todds of the world, the Robert Englunds of the world and the Bill Moseleys of the world, and they protect him.

The first film was directed by lead actor Tom DeNucci and shot in East Greenwich, R.I. DeNucci plays Jake, a night watchman at a highly secured self-storage facility. Jakes friends are home from college and looking to party, so he invites them to his work to indulge in a night of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. However, the characters stumble upon a covert black-market operation and find themselves trapped in an evening of pure terror.

Eliza Roberts and professional wrestlers Tommy Dreamer and Thea Trinidad also appear in the film.

Uncle Bob's Self Storage in San Antonio will host Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee to commemorate its grand re-opening on June 22. Lee will sign autographs from 4 to 6 p.m. at the facility, 6015 Tezel Road.

Lee's appearance at the self-storage facility follows the 8th Annual Between The Lines Cheer and Football Camp, which Lee is hosting at Heroes Stadium. Designed to provide support and outreach for children in local communities, the camp is a day of football drills and cheerleading training for children ages 5-18.

Uncle Bobs is owned by Sovran Self Storage Inc., a real estate investment trust that owns and manages 450 storage facilities in 25 states.

A rezoning request to build a self-storage facility on four lots in the Stone Pillar neighborhood of Mason City, Iowa, was unanimously rejected this week by the planning and zoning commission. The recommendation to deny the request agreed with the conclusion of city staff and will be passed to the city council, which will make a formal decision on the matter on July 2.

The area is currently zoned for residential use, and the request to change the specific lots to multi-use would allow self-storage but with stiff limitations, such as the appearance of the storage units, according to a proposed development agreement. The zoning request was made by Ryan Hanig, a local contractor.

The commission recommended against the proposal in part due to concerns about the ability to defend the zoning against legal challenges, according to the source. The proposed area is deep within the subdivision as opposed to being visible from a street with heavy traffic.

If these were units located on the edge of a neighborhood, facing a busy road, we would be having an entirely different discussion, City Planner Tricia Sandahl said.

About 30 residents spoke during the meeting, mostly in opposition to the request. Concerns ranged from the facilitys effect on property values to increased traffic and crime. Resident Jeff Bray said he liked the idea of having self-storage in the neighborhood as a way to get boats, RVs and other vehicles off the streets.

Guardian Self Storage, a self-storage provider with facilities in Dutchess, Orange and Ulster, N.Y., counties, is sponsoring a food drive in June to support Dutchess Outreach, a nonprofit that provides resources and advocacy for those in need in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

Nonperishable food items can be donated at Guardian Self-Storage locations during business hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Top donation requests include tuna, canned meat, peanut butter, chili, soups, pasta, cereal and canned vegetables.

Founded 25 years ago, N.Y.-based Guardian Self Storage has 13 facilities in the Hudson Valley.

Since 1974, Dutchess Outreach has aided men, women and children who have little or no income and need help obtaining basic needs. The charitable organization distributes food and clothes, and offers monetary support to those who qualify.

By Danette Hill

Today, consumers use mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets more than laptops or desktop computers to search for local businesses. In fact, mobile Internet usage is estimated to take over desktop use by next year.

While its important to ensure your self-storage website is at least viewable on a smartphone or other mobile device, its not enough. It also has to be user-friendly on a small screen, allowing visitors to quickly find what they need. For example, your phone number, address, directions, services offered, etc., should be easily visible these smaller screens. In addition, your website should load quickly and be easy to navigate with touch capability. Slow load times are simply frustrating and will drive prospective customers away. In fact, you might be surprised that a visitor will abandon a site in less than five seconds if he doesnt see what hes looking for immediately!

Here are five reasons to focus on a mobile-Web strategy for your self-storage business.

1. Eighty percent of all searches on smartphones are for local businesses and services. Forget about the good old days when everyone was tethered to their desktops. Today, consumers are accessing the Internet through their mobile devices no matter where they are. If you don't have a mobile-friendly website, customers won't be able to find and access your services easily. If your website isnt mobile by now, you might be missing out on a lot of business.

2. Sixty-one percent of local searches result in purchases. Your on-the-go customers want equally on-the-go results. Today's customers carry smartphones everywhere and use them for split-second decision-making. They want to take action, and they want to do it now. If a potential customer cant find what he wants, hell search for it somewhere else. Make yourself accessible with a mobile presence and you'll be available anywhere, any time your customers need you.

3. Eighty-eight percent of consumers who search for a local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours. Makes sense, right? Given that 85 percent of Americans are never more than a few feet away from their smartphones, you can guess that they're doing most of their surfing on them, too. Customers are increasingly making arrangements for things like storage units by mobile phone exclusivelyno desktop in sight. Don't lose out by either skimping on mobile-site development or ignoring it altogether.

4. Sixty-two percent of smartphone owners have used their device to check prices. You can be the best self-storage business in town with the best prices, customer service and location(s). You've probably spent a significant amount of money branding your facility so people recognize your name and will come to you for self-storage services. However, you'll significantly undercut the hard work you've put into your brand if your mobile-website presentation is sloppy, difficult or impossible to navigate. Again, because the majority of your customers will find you through your mobile site, that's all they'll see. Your reputation and your sales could suffer if your site isnt up to par.

5. Twenty-two percent of small-business owners planned to invest in mobile commerce in 2013.  Its safe to say your competitors are already thinking about a mobile strategy. With customers who prefer to find your facility on a mobile device and access critical information about your services from one, self-storage operators cant afford to ignore this rapidly growing channel.

Danette Hill is a marketing manager at EZ Storage, a self-storage facility with three locations in the Boston-metro area including Framingham, Natick and Newton. For more information, visit www.ezstoragenow.com.