Update 6/23/2014 – Cris Burnam received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 Award in the Services & Real Estate category for the central-midwest region on June 19. He’s now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 national program.

“It’s an honor to receive this award and a testament to the talented and dedicated people working beside me. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with my brothers and sister and learn from my mentor, my dad, Gordon Burnam,” Burnam said. “My hope is that being recognized for achievement as an entrepreneur reminds others in the trenches that ‘it is the courage to continue that counts.’”

Burnam said he champions StorageMart’s company culture to “focus on the customer experience because that’s what matters most.”

StorageMart was founded by the Burnam family in 1999. It doubled in size in 2008 with a successful takeover of a publicly-held Canadian storage portfolio. Most recently, the company acquired 17 self-storage properties in Des Moines, Iowa, and has plans to continue growing through self-storage acquisitions and conversions.

StorageMart is also a founder of Charity Storage, the first industry-led nonprofit organization. The charity supports Kure It Kidney Cancer Research, local Habitat for Humanity branches, women’s shelters, foster care and adoption-resource centers, and more.

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Cris Burnam, president of StorageMart, an owner and operator of self-storage facilities throughout the United States and Canada, is a finalist for the 2014 Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year award for the central-midwest region. The award recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Burnam was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges. Winners will be announced at a gala event on June 19 at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center in Overland Park, Kan.

“It’s a personal honor to be a finalist in such a prestigious award. I consider it an honor on behalf of my entire family, who have worked hand-in-hand with me in our family business,” Burnam said. “I’m proud of the acknowledgement this award brings to the dedicated people I’m fortunate enough to work with at StorageMart.”

Now in its 28th year, the EY awards program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at an awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., on Nov. 15.

Founded and produced by EY, the awards are sponsored in the United States by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America Inc. The central-midwest program’s sponsors include Armstrong Teasdale, Common Ground Public Relations, Enterprise Bank & Trust, Lockton Cos., Merrill Corp. Ltd., Smart Business and Stinson Leonard Street LLP.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Columbia, Mo., StorageMart owns and operates more than 149 self-storage properties in the United States and Canada. The company has 350 employees.

Ernst & Young is a global provider of assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services.

Brundage Management Co. Inc., which operates self-storage facilities under the A-AAAKey Mini Storage brand, was presented the Bill Sinkin Solar Award on June 20 for adding solar-panel systems to 11 of its facilities in San Antonio, Texas. The company received the honor during a ceremony at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio from city officials and Build San Antonio Green (BSAG), a green-building program that works with builders and developers to certify green homes in the city.

William R. “Bill” Sinkin was a community activist for equality, international cooperation and alternative energy in San Antonio. In 1999, he founded the nonprofit organization Solar San Antonio to encourage the use of solar and other renewable, sustainable energy sources. In 2003, he launched the Metropolitan Partnership for Energy, which became BSAG in 2008. Sinkin passed away in February 2014.

Brundage is the largest owner of “net metered” solar-energy properties in the city, according to the source. The systems are expected to generate 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity for a savings of $93,000 annually and reduce the company’s electricity usage by 75 percent, the source reported. The solar panels were installed by Self Reliant Solar, an Austin, Texas-based manufacturer and provider of solar-panel power.

Brundage plans to expand installations at its properties in San Antonio to bring the company’s total generation capacity to 1 megawatt of power. When complete, the combined systems are expected to generate 1.25 million kilowatt hours of solar power per year, and save the company $125,000 annually and more than $3 million over the next 25 years.

“These solar-energy systems will allow us to control our electricity costs for years to come while electricity rates rise over time,” said Tom Brundage, president of Brundage Management.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, Brundage provides third-party management services including human resources, employee recruitment and training, advertising, accounting, licensing and auditing, information technology, representation on state and national boards and governing bodies, and long-term strategic planning. A-AAAKey operates more than 40 self-storage facilities throughout Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

 

By Tim Schlee

With alternative energies on the rise, self-storage owners must decide if, when and how they want to use them. Solar energy is a popular one, and it makes sense for many storage sites. Why not harness the power of the sun, an inexhaustible energy source we encounter every day? Many facilities around the nation are doing just that, but it’s still a massive and expensive undertaking.

Although solar-panel installation is cheaper than ever before (solar panels are 99 percent cheaper now than they were 35 years ago), it’s still a costly venture. With so much money at stake, self-storage operators should do their research to determine if it’s worth the investment. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a list of questions to help steer you in the right direction.

1. What Is Solar Energy?

There’s no such thing as a dumb question. If you don’t know anything about solar energy, you certainly won’t know whether it’s right for your business. Luckily, it’s not hard to find resources out there to learn about it.

In brief, solar panels, developed in 1954 by Bell Laboratories, convert sunlight into electric currents. This allows us to harness the incredible amount of energy we receive every day from the sun and put it to use in our normal, functioning power grids. Once you know a little about what solar power is, the next step is deciding how you want to use it.

2. Do I Receive Enough Sunlight?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how eco-friendly you are—if your facility doesn’t receive enough sunlight, solar energy isn’t right for you. Does your locale get a lot of sun? Do you have trees or some structure, such as a chimney, that will shade the panels during parts of the day? Does your facility have south-facing roofs (unless you’re in the southern hemisphere, in which case you’d want north-facing roofs)?

The less sunlight your panels receive, the less energy you’ll generate. And the less energy you generate, the longer it will take your solar-power system to pay for itself.

3. Is My Facility Suitable?

Self-storage facilities are in many ways ideal for solar power. Most are single-story buildings spread out over a large area—that is, they have lots of roof area, and more roof area equals more room to place solar panels. Many facilities throughout the nation are installing solar-power systems.

But not all facilities are created equal. The condition of your building, particularly your roof, could play a role in its suitability for solar power. Roof materials should be expected to last as long as the solar panels themselves (about 25 to 30 years). If your roof is old and crumbling, you’ll need to patch or even replace it before installing the panels.

Of course, solar panels don’t need to be roof-mounted. If your facility has enough open land, a solar array could be mounted directly into the ground.

4. What Are My Goals?

This is the most important question. Once you’ve figured out whether solar energy is reasonable for your property, you need to determine your goals. If it’s to completely power your facility and sell the surplus back to the energy supplier, you’ll need a different kind of system (and a lot more funds) than if you’re merely looking to shave 25 percent off your energy bill.

Don’t just think about your immediate goals, though. How long will it take for your system to pay for itself? If you’re planning on selling your facility or moving in the next 10 to 15 years, it might not be the greatest investment. Many solar-power systems take 20 years or more to pay for themselves.

Also think about whether you want to expand your system in the future. The way it’s installed now can make it a lot easier to add on later. Be as specific as you can with your goals, and the questions that follow will be a lot easier to answer.

5. What Kind of System Do I Need?

There are several kinds of solar panels and solar-power systems. The kind of system you need largely depends on your solar-energy goals. Some systems, for example, are not connected to the power grid. A business such as a self-storage facility will probably want to remain connected, either to supplement its solar energy with standard electricity or to sell excess back to the electric company. There are also various wattages available, so be active, do your research, and talk to the professionals who are going to install the panels to determine what will work best for you.

6. What Will It Cost?

Unfortunately, solar energy is still not cheap. The price varies by a number of factors, including wattage, number of panels, the installation company, permitting and zoning processes, and more. It can vary from just a few thousand dollars to more than $50,000. Comparing the installation cost to the standard price of energy in your region can give you a general idea of how much you can save each year and how quickly it can pay for itself.

Don’t forget to include the cost of maintenance in your calculations. Most insurance policies require yearly checks to ensure the solar panels continue to function properly.

However, the bare cost is usually not what you’ll pay. The federal government offers a tax credit for 30 percent of the installation cost, and most state governments have other tax credits and rebates available. Look into what’s available in your area so you can take full advantage of the possible funding.

7. How Will This Affect My Facility’s Image?

Not everyone likes the look of solar panels covering a building’s roof. If solar power isn’t very popular in your area, people might not even realize what it is you have on your roof, and that could turn them off before they even step foot on your property. On the other hand, if you live in an area where going green is common or even expected, you’ve just added another selling point to your facility.

Don’t neglect the marketing potential in solar energy. Alternative energies are only growing in popularity, and that’s another tool to be harnessed to draw in customers.

This is far from an exhaustive list of things to consider before installing solar power. It’s a very large investment, so don’t try to cut corners. It will probably take a lot of time and effort to figure out whether it’s right for you and, if it is, what kind of system you need; but it can be worth it.

Tim Schlee is a Kansas City native who studied English and linguistics at Truman State University. He is a content writer for StorageAhead, which offers Web-marketing technology for the self-storage industry, including lead-generating search engines and facility-management software. For more information, call 913.954.4110.

UK Storage Co. Ltd., which operates seven self-storage facilities in England, is seeking growth opportunities in South West England, one of the country’s nine official regions. The company hired real estate firm Bruton Knowles to find suitable sites where it can possibly open additional locations. It has already acquired a site in Redruth, according to Will Nell, a Bruton Knowles property agent.

A growing demand from residential and commercial customers has led to UK Storage’s growth, Nell told the source. “We will be looking for other suitable sites from Birmingham down to the tip of Cornwall,” he said.

UK Storage opened its first self-storage facility in Bridgwater in 2005. It now has properties in Bristol, Chard, Gloucester, Plymouth, Redruth and Taunton. In addition to traditional storage, all of the facilities also offer document storage.

The Lock Up Self Storage/Evergreen Storage LLC has purchased 18 self-storage facilities in six states for $131.7 million. The properties comprise 13,422 units in 1.15 million net rentable square feet. The assets are in Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey. As of April, they were collectively 86.5 percent occupied, according to a press release issued by the lender.

Financing was secured through Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., the commercial-mortgage lending business of Prudential Financial Inc. It includes a $20 million, seven-year, floating-rate tranche, and a $111.7 million, 10-year, fixed-rate tranche.

The majority of the properties feature modern construction and are in predominantly dense, high-income urban locations, Prudential officials said. The assets were built or converted to self-storage between 1982 and 2009.

“As the U.S. economy improves, with many Americans choosing to rent instead of own, the fundamentals of the self-storage market continue to improve, especially for high-quality, proven assets in major markets,” said Frances Bo, a loan originator with Prudential Mortgage Capital.

“This is now our third large portfolio transaction with the Prudential Mortgage Capital team, and we find they uniquely understand and appreciate our sector, our company and our specific assets,” added Rick Hielscher, a partner with The Lock Up.

Prudential Mortgage Capital is a nationwide commercial and multi-family mortgage finance business with more than $79 billion in assets under management and administration. The company maintains a loan-servicing portfolio of approximately $76.7 billion.

The family-owned Lock Up Development Group, an affiliate of BRB Development LLC, has offered self-storage services since 1976. The Lock Up currently operates self-storage facilities in eight states. It owns and manages more than 1.6 million square feet of self-storage.

24 Hour Self Storage received approval for a special-use permit from the Bristol Tennessee Regional Municipal Planning Commission this week, supporting owner Richard Bowie’s plans to build a fully automated storage facility on an 8-acre parcel. City staff had recommended against the permit, citing general compatibility issues with other developments near the site off of Volunteer Parkway.

The property is bordered by a Honda dealership and is beside Sacred Cross Church. It is also surrounded by property with three different zoning designations, including residential, institutional and commercial, according to the source.

As part of the permit approval, Shari Brown, Bristol’s director of economic and community development, gave Bowie a list of 10 requirements he must meet. These include following the façade rules of the Volunteer Parkway Overlay building requirements, installing a fire hydrant at the front of the business, and providing ingress and egress off of Volunteer Parkway. Brown also stipulated that the permit would apply only to the portion of the property being developed, the source reported.

If Bowie meets the requirements, the project will move to city council for final approval.

Bowie said he intended to meet the permit conditions and told the commission the self-storage facility would be a productive use of the site, which has been vacant for more than 35 years. “This property has been marketed and listed by seven different realty companies and not one offer had been made on it,” he said. “If you get a non-franchised restaurant in there, studies tell us that 90 to 95 percent of them go broke within five years. You’re left with an empty building with no income coming in, no tax coming in and no jobs. If I didn’t think it was needed or would be successful, I wouldn’t want to put it there. This seemed like a reasonable place to build a business like this.”

Commission chair Kelly Graham said it will be important for the site’s design to fit in with other businesses in the area. “I think the overlay restriction on parkway property means that these buildings will have to be dressed up,” he said. “I would have preferred a restaurant or retail [in that location], preferably something that would bring cash registers to the Volunteer Parkway. However, given the fact that there is no median cut coming from the south, I felt it limited the potential uses of that site.”

Graham also expressed concern about how the storage building could impact a 100-year flood plain, which is on a large portion of the remaining property below the development site. “My concern is those people downstream and that a new structure would adversely affect them,” he said. “We have to rely on the city engineers to safeguard those residents.”

Bowie said he was confident the flood plain would not be an issue to move the project forward.

24 Hour Self Storage operates six facilities in Tennessee and one in Virginia.

A standoff between police and an armed man at a self-storage facility in San Luis Obispo, Calif., ended peacefully on Tuesday. The man barricaded himself inside his vehicle at Derrel’s Mini Storage Inc., 3650 Broad St., before officers surrounded the vehicle, coaxed him out and disarmed him, according to the source.

San Luis Obispo Police Chief Steve Gesell said the unidentified suspect had a history of mental-health issues and was being transported to a psychiatric facility. It’s not clear what weapon the man possessed.

Gesell commended officers for diffusing the situation before it could escalate. “In most cities, it’s ultimately a matter of time before there’s a significant use of force,” he said.

Prime Group Acquisitions LLC, an investment firm based in Upstate New York that operates self-storage facilities as Prime Storage Group, has purchased three storage properties in Williamsburg, Va., for $12.2 million.

The company acquired Williamsburg Storage on June 6 for $3 million. The facility at 5151 Mooretown Road comprises 42,344 square feet. Features include climate control, video surveillance and complimentary document destruction for tenants.

Prime purchased Climatrol Self Storage on June 12 for $3.1 million. The 57,000-square-foot facility at 9297 Pocahontas Trail offers interior, climate-controlled and lighted units. Amenities include electronic gate access, a fenced perimeter, video surveillance, an intercom system, and an array of boxes and moving supplies. The facility also offers wine storage.

The company also acquired the AAAA Self Storage facility at 6515A Richmond Road on June 12 for approximately $6.1 million, according to the source. The 81,100-square-foot facility offers drive-up storage, climate control, video surveillance and moving supplies. AAAA operates several facilities in 16 states.

Mid-Atlantic Commercial Realty representatives Monty Spencer Jr., senior vice president, and Fred Paris, agent, brokered the deals. Mid-Atlantic is working with Prime on additional acquisitions in the region, the source reported.

Prime Storage Group is a family-owned and managed real estate company focused on the ownership, operation, acquisition and development of self-storage facilities across the United States. It operates several storage properties in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Virginia.

A flood-mitigation project in Johnson City, Tenn., forced U-Haul Moving and Storage of Downtown to find a new home after 30 years at its location. The self-storage business has moved to 2805 N. Roan St., which most recently housed the Fun Expedition game center. Prior to that, it operated as a Lowe’s Home Improvement store.

The property includes 9.59 acres of land and a combined 91,250 square feet of building space. It includes two single-story buildings, one with 71,340 square feet and another with 12,028 square feet. A third single-story, semi-open building has 7,882 square feet of space.

A conversion is underway to add self-storage, hitch sales and the introduction of U-Haul's newest product line, a U-Box warehouse. The facility will operate as U-Haul Moving and Storage of Johnson City. Currently, rental trucks, trailers and U-Box portable storage are available to customers.

“We were happy to find a suitable location that enables us to continue serving the residents of Johnson City," said Clay McQuade, marketing president of U-Haul Co. of Knoxville.

Established in 1945, U-Haul International Inc. has more than 40 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,000 owned and managed facilities throughout North America.