Update 7/27/18 – Metro Storage opened its new facility in Addison in March as well as another location in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. Both sites were developed in partnership with Fremont Realty Capital. Metro now operates 23 facilities in the Chicagoland area, according to a press release.

“We opened our first store in the Chicago area back in 1973, so it’s exciting to continue that 45-year tradition with these new developments,” said CEO Blair Nagel.

The Naperville store opened earlier this month at 1752 N. Aurora Road. It comprises 74,988 rentable square feet of storage space in 575 units, some of which are climate-controlled. Additional features include a large interior loading bay, security and a modern retail office.

“We’ve had great success in the Chicagoland market,” said Marty Gallagher, president of Metro Storage LLC. “Both of these stores are located in areas with strong demographics, excellent visibility, and features that will serve the storage needs of the surrounding communities.”

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7/19/2016 – Metro Storage LLC, which operates 120 self-storage properties in 12 states, has purchased a parcel of land in Addison, Ill., on which it plans to build a new Metro Self Storage facility. Slated to open in July 2017, the property will be the company’s 23rd in the Chicago area and 12th in its joint venture with Fremont Realty Capital, the real estate merchant-banking arm of Fremont Group.

The two-story building at 1951 W. Lake St. will comprise 77,525 rentable square feet of storage space in 745 climate-controlled units. Property features will include double-bay, covered loading/unloading areas, ground-level access at two entry points, state-of-the-art security components, and a large, modern retail office, according to a Metro press release. The land is near Interstate 355 and several retail stores.

“This is another great opportunity to expand and leverage the Metro brand in the Chicago area,” said Matthew Nagel, chairman of Metro Storage. “It has a strong location in terms of visibility, accessibility and drive-by traffic, and it’s in a strong market with outstanding density and key demographics.”

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., Metro Storage is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate operating company specializing in the acquisition, development and management of self-storage facilities nationwide. Its facilities comprise more than 8.1 million square feet of storage space.

Fremont Realty has been an active investor in the European and U.S. self-storage sector since 1997. It originates, structures, closes and manages private-equity investments in public and individual real estate projects, programmatic real estate investment vehicles, and private real estate operating companies.

Sources:
PR Web, Metro Storage LLC Opens Two New Self Storage Facilities in Chicago Market
PR Web, Metro Self Storage Announces Development of New Store in Addison, Illinois

U-Store Management Corp. partnered with Sign of the Times Cultural Workshop and Gallery to restore “The Washington Mural,” which adorns a wall at a U-Store Self Storage location in Washington, D.C. The refreshed artwork, which celebrates the arts and music history of the nation’s capital, was unveiled on July 17, according to a press release.

The mural at 301 New York Ave. N.E. depicts several artists including Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Denyce Graves and Davey Yarborough. It also includes references to the Duke Ellington School of Arts, the release stated. Yarborough was among those who attended the unveiling of the restored piece. Other guests included Denyce Graves’ brother, Andre Graves, musician and radio personality Jeff Majors and city-council member Kenyan McDuffie.

The original mural was created by late artist Alex Matterson in 1989. The restoration was performed by muralist Jerome Johnson. Both projects were coordinated by James Greggs, founder and executive director of Sign of the Times, a nonprofit cultural-arts organization founded in 1970 that’s dedicated to raising the self-esteem of at-risk children, according to its website.

In addition to financial contributions from U-Store, the project was funded by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Home Depot and Benjamin Moore also provided support, the release stated.

 

Midgard Self Storage Bradenton FL LLC has acquired two Storage Now facilities in Bradenton, Fla., for $18.4 million. The properties comprise a combined 147,586 square feet of storage space. The sellers were Storage Now Inc. and Storage Now, Too LLC. The purchase price is believed to be the largest amount paid for a pair of storage assets in Manatee County, Fla., according to the source.

The facility at 5246 Lena Road in the Creekwwod East Corporate Park comprises 67,606 square feet on 9 acres. The other property at 8785 State Road 70 comprises 79,980 square feet on 6.53 acres.

“In the five and a half years that I have worked in the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, I don’t know of any that sold for that much,” said Mark Johns, deputy appraiser for the county.

The land amount was the largest of all property transfers reported this week by the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s Office, the source reported.

Reliant Real Estate Management LLC, a self-storage development and property-management firm best known for operating storage properties under the StoreSmart Self Storage brand name, also owns facilities under the Midgard name. It currently operates a portfolio of 52 owned and managed self-storage facilities in seven states comprising more than 4.3 million square feet.

Source:
Bradenton Herald, A Company Paid More Than $18 Million for These 2 Buildings. It Could Be a Manatee Record.

Strategic Storage Trust IV Inc. (SST IV), a public non-traded real estate investment trust sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management LLC, has purchased a self-storage facility in North Las Vegas, Nev. The former StorageOne location at 2555 W. Centennial Parkway comprises 66,400 net rentable square feet in about 600 units. It includes electronic gate and lobby access, elevators, fencing, individual unit alarms, lighting, 40 RV-parking spaces, and security cameras, according to a press release.

"This self-storage facility is part of a busy neighborhood retail center with access and signage along Aliante Parkway and Simmons Street—two primary corridors with high-traffic counts in North Las Vegas," said Wayne Johnson, chief investment officer. "Through its affiliated property management arm, Strategic Storage Trust IV will bring institutional expertise to a locally managed outlet where renters will benefit from an in-house call center and the full resources of a nationwide professional self-storage operator."

Based in Maryland, SST IV owns six self-storage properties comprising about 403,900 net rentable square feet. It intends to invest in a portfolio of self-storage properties in Canada and the United States.

SmartStop is the asset manager for 117 facilities in Canada and the U.S. Its portfolio comprises approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet.

Source:
PR Newswire, Strategic Storage Trust IV Acquires Approximately 600-Unit Self Storage Facility in Greater Las Vegas

Compass Self Storage, a member of the Amsdell family of companies, has acquired an existing facility in Philadelphia and a brand-new build in Ponte Vedra, Fla., bringing its total number of locations to 81 nationwide. The company plans to upgrade the former and expand the latter this summer. The purchases were made by separate affiliates of Amsdell Group LLC and Compass Self Storage LLC. Both will be branded under the Compass name, according to a press release.

The property at 1831 W. Allegheny Ave. in Philadelphia comprises 71,000 net rentable square feet. It includes a drive-through building for loading and unloading. Planned upgrades include individual access control and security improvements.

The facility at 1120 Preservation Trail in Ponte Vedra features modern amenities. Additional space will open as construction is completed, the release stated. The property offers traditional drive-up and climate-controlled units.

Both locations will offer moving and packing supplies, and truck rentals.

“The development and acquisition of these two new Compass Self Storage centers marks our expansions in two markets where we believe we can offer a superior customer experience,” said Todd Amsdell, president. “Both locations will proudly offer our new customers top-notch product and convenient options, such as moving and truck-rental solutions, to make the entire process easy.”

Headquartered in Cleveland, the Amsdell Cos. draws its roots from the family-owned construction company founded in 1928. Since its inception, the company has been active in several billions of dollars of real estate ventures, with a primary focus on self-storage. It has owned and operated more than 500 storage centers under various trade names in more than 27 states. It currently owns and operates properties in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

Source:
PR Newswire, Compass Self Storage Opens Brand New Storage Center in Ponte Vedra, FL, and Acquires Self Storage Center in Philadelphia, PA

Four M Storage has opened in Owosso, Mich. The 5-acre self-storage property at 2271 W. Dewey Road is owned by Dan Manausa, his son, Josh Manausa, and businesses partners Drake Holtzlander and Brad Smith. It comprises 4,000 square feet of storage space in 30 units, according to the source.

Dan Manausa purchased the property several years ago before he retired from Airgas Specialty Products Inc., a supplier of ammonia for industrial applications, which he managed for 32 years. “It looked like there was a need for a storage facility. Every place around here was full,” he said.

The partners plan to expand the site if there’s a need for more storage, the source reported. This fall, they’ll add outdoor spaces for boats with the option for vehicles to be shrink-wrapped by staff for winter storage.

Josh Manausa and Smith also own Four M Lawn & Snow LLC, a landscaping and snow-removal company. The Four M name was carried over to the storage facility because of its brand recognition, Josh Manausa said. “We’re excited about a new venture that’s different from lawn care,” Smith added.

The facility hosted a July 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony in conjunction with the Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce. Chamber members in attendance included Julianne Ackerson, Lisa Hitchcock, Char Hebekeuser and Sue Lamphere.

Sources:
Argus Press, Self-Storage Facility Opens Near Owosso
Facebook, Four M Storage

Cooper Cos. Inc., which owns seven self-storage facilities in El Paso, Texas, is opening a new location in the city. Like its other properties, the $7 million, four-story facility at 995 N. Resler Drive will be managed by self-storage real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage and branded under its name. Expected to open on Aug. 20, the site is be perched on 2.5-acres on an arroyo’s edge. It’ll comprise 120,000 square feet of space in 670 interior, climate-controlled units, according to the source.

Owner John Cooper purchased the land—originally 14.5 acres—35 years ago, according to David Etzold, a commercial real estate broker and owner of Etzold & Co. “Finally, we came up with this plan to develop the temperature-controlled storage facility, and keep 2.5 acres and sell 12 to the Public Service Board as open space and flood control,” Etzold said.

The facility was designed by Fred Dalbin, an architect with Wright & Dalbin Architects Inc. Cooper sought to integrate the building into the slope of the canyon, according to Dalbin, who said it was “gutsy to do something like that.” A Central Texas builder with experience in rough-canyon development was hired to execute the design, the source reported.

“You have to have an owner who’s ready to take the risk with the vision, and I have not seen too many of those,” said Dalbin, whose company designed a similar canyon integration for a residential project on Crazy Cat Mountain in El Paso that included a garage on the ground floor with living area below.

“We are so excited to be opening; it’s been a labor of love,” said Reg Cooper, John Cooper’s son and president of Cooper Cos. “We love this neighborhood. There are so many innovative and exciting new businesses going in, and this will be consistent with them.”

Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Cooper Cos. is a private real estate company that operates more than 500,000 square feet of self-storage and commercial buildings. In the last five years, it has developed more than 200 acres of residential and 160,000 square feet of commercial product. The company also operates Armour Self Storage in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Source:
El Paso Inc., This Self-Storage Won’t Be Ugly, Hot or Cold

You’ve probably heard that “Content is king.” After all, what would a website be without it? But simply throwing words or quirky quips on a page isn’t a strategy; and content without a purpose doesn’t really contribute to business revenue.

Keep in mind that online content has a job to do, even your blog and social media posts. In self-storage, its function is to build relationships with customers and sell your services. However, there are many forms of content and many things it can accomplish. Is yours positively contributing to your bottom line?

What’s in Your Words?

When creating online content, your word choice impacts your self-storage brand: the personality, relatability and expertise you convey. The right words not only promote and describe your facility features and amenities, they establish and affect your digital presence.

Keywords are all the rage in search marketing, and for good reason. Still determining a good part of search engine rankings, they’re important, but not in the same way they used to be. Before Google made some major algorithm changes, the more abundant a specific keyword, the better. Now, an overuse of keyword mentions can be viewed negatively. That doesn’t mean you should eliminate them altogether, but rather, incorporate keywords naturally. You want to comprehensively cover a topic so your content shows better in the search engine results page (referred to as “semantic search”).

A Walk Down Sales-Funnel Lane

Your online content does more than just capture Web traffic. It must funnel users through your website. Ultimately, your website should be one of your best salespeople. As such, its content should drive users through each stage of the sales cycle to eventually rent or reserve a unit. This means it must not only address facility features, but the benefits of renting at your property.

Your website pages need a strong call to action (CTA). By providing clear, relevant and actionable inbound-linking options on each page, you can drive users through your site like IKEA herds customers through its stores. It’s proven that users are more likely to click when a CTA is present.

Pieces of the Puzzle

A self-storage website should contain at least three types of content: static pages, facility pages and blogs. Once these are satisfied, you can diversify by incorporating more visually appealing, shareable types of content. These more creative pieces help capture audience interest and develop top-of-mind awareness.

Static pages. These are the educational or informative pages that are always on your site. They should answer users’ questions about self-storage in general and your company specifically. They’re typically more “evergreen” in nature, meaning the content doesn’t need to be constantly updated to stay accurate. Be wary of including things like nearby businesses or how many years your company has been in business, as these things will constantly change.

Facility pages. These market-level pages are integral to your website. This is typically where users can reserve or rent units, and where many sales conversions take place. But facility pages aren’t meant to include just a list of available units. Your content should build up the value of each type. In their heads, your customers are doing their own form of a cost-benefit analysis, and the content of these pages should account for that.

Specific markets (cities, states, ZIP codes, etc.) are also commonly part of search terms when users are looking for self-storage near them. By incorporating proper keywords into your facility pages, you can stay optimized for search engines.

Blogs. While the days of RSS feeds are past, blogs are still an important marketing tool. They should provide fresh, relevant and keyword-focused content to stay on top of search engine needs. The key metrics of a top-performing blog are increased entrances and page views, and a low exit rate. This means that not only does a blog need to be optimized for search engine optimization (SEO) to generate traffic, it should be timely and relevant to capture user interest and—with a strong CTA—funnel users through your website.

While it can be hard to measure your blogs’ return on investment, they’re still vital in the overall strength of your sales funnel. After all, could a funnel do its job without the wide mouth at the top?

Visual content. Once the essentials are covered, you can delve into more engaging content. These might include gated, lead-generating content and appealing social media graphics. While it’s important that your brand tone comes through in all forms of content, this is where your personality can really shine. Visual content can help with brand recall and loyalty.

Investing in Professional Help

Creativity doesn’t necessarily involve strategy and vice versa. With content, you need a good mix of both. If you find yourself struggling with anything from keyword research to copywriting, trust a seasoned expert to help. Content is a highly customized field that’s continually changing with new technology and evolving user attitudes. Don’t get left behind.

A content expert can help determine which messages will resonate with your market and how to distinguish your services in the best way. Content touches every single marketing team you have, from Web to paid media to SEO. Without it—and the right strategy behind it—where would your marketing mix be?

Tessa Lieber is a content specialist for Go Local Interactive, an agency specializing in localized digital marketing services for the self-storage industry. It creates true partnerships with premier companies by providing digital marketing services that drive results. Expertise includes tracked, customized solutions to local marketing. For more information, e-mail [email protected]; visit www.golocalinteractive.com. 

Stor-Age Property REIT, which operates self-storage facilities in South Africa and the United Kingdom, will sponsor the 40th annual Stor-Age Pirates 10K run through the historic Johannesburg suburbs of Westcliff, Gauteng, South Africa, on Aug. 5. The event could draw as many as 3,000 participants between the 10-kilometer run and walk events, according to the source. Company volunteers will manage two water stations to keep runners hydrated.

Stor-Age also sponsors the Pirates Running Club, which serves as the start and end points of the course.

“Although August is still a chilly month in [Johannesburg], this year we’re claiming the Stor-Age Pirates 10K as ‘Joburg’s warmest winter 10K’ because of the festive atmosphere on the route and at the finish,” said race director Bradley Nelson. “The Stor-Age Pirates 10K attracts some of Joburg’s fastest runners but is also a great event for novices wanting to go further than a fun run.”

Participants who register online can pick up their race number in advance of the event from a pre-selected Stor-Age facility. All entrants will also receive one free month of storage at a company location.

In June, Stor-Age also served as title sponsor of the Festival of Running at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa.

Headquartered in Cape Town, Stor-Age was established in 2005 by Stor-Age Property Holdings Pty. Ltd. to acquire, develop and manage self-storage assets. Today, Stor-Age operates a 63-property portfolio, primarily in four South African metropolitan areas, that comprises approximately 407,000 square meters. It acquired U.K. operator Storage King in 2017. The company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in November 2015.

Source:
Rosebank Killarney Gazette, 40th Annual Stor-Age Pirates 10K Event Set to Take Place