Public Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), recently acquired a bank-owned, 1.3-acre property in Seattle for $3 million. The REIT intends to build a six-story facility comprising 218,500 square feet of storage space in nearly 1,900 units. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and will take about a year, according to Mitch Johnson, the REIT’s director of real estate acquisitions in the Northwest.

The property at 1200 S. Dearborn St. was previously owned by local developer Michael R. Mastro and his wife, Linda, who were indicted by a federal grand jury in 2012 on 43 counts of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering, according to the source.

The Mastros’ company, Mastro Properties, purchased the parcel in 2007 for nearly $6.2 million. In 2008, the company applied for a master-use permit to develop a 328,700-square-foot storage facility; but a year later, three banks petitioned to force the company into bankruptcy. Mastro had borrowed more than $4 million from Columbia Bank, one of the petitioning lenders, for the project, according to the source.

Around the time of their indictment, the Mastros reportedly fled the United States with suitcases filled with jewelry and designer clothes. The couple was later arrested in France but eventually released. French authorities refused to extradite them back to the U.S. because officials here wouldn’t guarantee the couple would avoid jail if convicted, the source reported. Michael Mastro was 87 years old and Linda 62 at the time of their indictment, according to the FBI.

"I just hope we find some of [the] diamond rings on the site, but I don't think it's going to happen," Johnson joked to the source.

Seattle architecture firm BCRA Inc. designed the Public Storage project, and general contractor Foushee & Associates is in line to manage the construction, although a contract has not yet been signed, the source reported.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in more than 2,250 self-storage facilities in 38 states, with approximately 146 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 193 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 10 million net rentable square feet.

Mark and Calvin Byrd, owners of Byrds Mini Storage, which operates one self-storage facility in Alabama and seven in Georgia, recently purchased Safeguard Storage in Pinson, Ala., for $1 million. The property at 6401 Old Springville Road, Suite 137, consists of 43,200 square feet of storage space as well as an office with a retail area. Facility amenities include outdoor vehicle parking, perimeter fencing with electronic access, truck rental, video cameras, and the sale of moving and packing supplies.

The seller was represented by Bill Barnhill, Shannon Barnes and Stuart P. LaGroue Sr. of Omega Properties Inc. in Mobile, Ala. The trio are the broker affiliates for the Argus Self Storage Sales Network in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Argus is a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties. Formed in 1994, the company has 36 broker affiliates covering nearly 40 markets.

Based in Dawsonville, Ga., Byrds Mini Storage operates facilities in Clay, Ala., as well as Alto, Cleveland, Dawsonville, Gainesville and Murrayville, Ga. General property amenities include 24-hour access, climate control and vehicle storage.

CubeSmart, a publicly traded self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), has acquired the former Signature Self Storage in Boynton Beach, Fla., for $10.5 million, or $142 per square foot. The property at 7960 Venture Center Way was owned by Herbert F. Kahlert of West Palm Beach, Fla. Kahlert and his family’s estate built the facility in 2007. Situated on 4.85 acres of land, the property is comprised of 73,848 square feet of storage space and is just south of Boynton Beach Boulevard on the east side of the Florida Turnpike.

Kahlert entered into a legal battle with his former wife, the late Patricia Kahlert, in 2010, according to one source. Patricia Kahlert filed a series of lawsuits aimed at her ex-husband’s property holdings, including the self-storage facility. The couple amicably resolved their differences in 2014, and Patricia Kahlert filed releases dismissing the lawsuits. She passed away on June 18 at the age of 68.

The acquisition will be CubeSmart’s fifth facility in Boynton Beach. The REIT also owns a property less than a mile away at 7358 Boynton Beach Boulevard. It has acquired six properties in Palm Beach County, Fla., in less than two years, according to the source. Most recently, it purchased a foreclosed property in Lake Worth, Fla., for $7.3 million.

CubeSmart owns or manages 611 self-storage facilities across the United States and operates the CubeSmart Network, which consists of more than 800 additional self-storage facilities.