Minnesota-based self-storage operator Spensa Management LLC has purchased a 22,345-square-foot office building in Scottsdale, Ariz., for $3.5 million. The company will use office space in the building to serve as the local headquarters for its Desert Storage operating brand. The building is 43 percent occupied with business tenants, according to the source.

Desert Storage operates 10 self-storage facilities in the Phoenix metro area. Amenities include climate control, drive-in storage access, wine storage, boat/RV storage and some office-space rentals.

The company purchased the Scottsdale office building from K2H Pinnacle Peak Place LLC, a firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, according to the source. Joe Welchert, a broker with Phoenix Commercial Advisors, represented Spensa in the deal. The seller was represented by vice presidents Mike Milic and Philip Wurth as well as associate Tyler Bush of Colliers International.

“The transaction represented a solid opportunity for Spensa Management to acquire a great office property at below replacement cost in a highly desirable area of Scottsdale,” Milic told the source.

Spensa Management is related to Spensa Development Group, a real estate investment company specializing in self-storage acquisitions and development. The company is also headquartered in Scottsdale, with satellite offices in Minnetonka, Minn., and Portland, Ore.

The bodies of a baby boy and two decomposing adults were discovered last week inside an auctioned self-storage unit at United Storage in Johnston, R.I. The unit had been rented by Alfred Pennine, a funeral director who died last month in New Hampshire, according to police. Pennine’s business, Pennine Funeral Home in Providence, R.I., was shut down last month after state health officials found the remains of six improperly stored bodies on the premises.

At the self-storage facility on Putnam Pike, the body of a man was stored in a metal coffin, and the remains of a woman were found in a cremation transport container, according to the source. The infant, whose body was in a small, padded chest, wasn’t discovered until the auction buyer brought back contents he had removed from the unit at the request of police.

Investigators believe the bodies had been kept in the storage unit for about six months. Other items included some of Pennine’s personal belongings. Police are investigating to see if the former funeral director had rented units at other self-storage facilities.

In 2007, the state suspended Pennine’s funeral-services and embalming license for two years, according to the source.

SecurCare Self Storage recently acquired two facilities in Longview, Texas. The properties are Just Store It, 1909 W. Loop 281, and My Space, 3400 E. Marshall Ave. They will be rebranded as SecurCare Self Storage.

SecurCare now owns five properties in the city, offering about 1,700 storage units, according to Irene Picket, the company’s city manager for the Dallas-Fort Worth and Longview, Texas, areas. “We thought it was a good opportunity to grow,” she said.

SecurCare Self Storage is a part of National Storage Affiliates (NSA), a Maryland-based real estate investment trust. The company is owned and operated by its affiliated operators, who manage and self-brand their contributed portfolios under the NSA umbrella. Lone Tree, Colo.-based SecurCare operates 131 facilities in nine states.

A-American Self Storage, which has locations in California, Hawaii, Missouri and Nevada, is offering 60 days of free self-storage to Hawaii residents who’ve been affected by Hurricane Iselle on the Big Island of Hawaii.

“We care about our community and hope to assist anyone who was affected by this storm,” said Josh Paterson, vice president.

Hurricane Iselle was the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on the Big Island in recorded history, according to Wikipedia. It’s the 11^th named storm of the annual hurricane season, which typically runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Iselle developed from an area of disturbed weather southwest of Mexico on July 31 and reached its peak on Aug. 4 with winds of 140 mph, according to Wikipedia. It hit the Big Island of Hawaii on Aug. 7 as a tropical storm, causing heavy rain, flooding and power outages.

A-American Self Storage was founded in 1973 by owner Edmund C. Olson. The storage company operates properties in Honolulu and Keaau, Hawaii.

By Michael Solms

Twitter’s new profile design is here, and while many were anxious to see its new face, the end result looks somewhat familiar. Most of the buzz surrounding the new layout has been about its striking resemblance to Facebook user profiles, but several new features provide much-needed improvement to the Twitter experience. Here’s an in-depth review.

Profile and Header Images

One of the more obvious changes is the new design features a larger profile photo and customizable header image—just like Facebook and Google+. The larger profile photo is still a square image, but it now appears near the top left of your profile instead of the center, and it overlaps with the header image. Twitter recommends using a 400-by-400-pixel profile photo, but you have the option to crop a larger image during the upload process. Below your profile photo, users will find basic information about you, including a brief description, location, a website link, and clickable thumbnails of photos and videos.

The new header image will definitely catch the eye of anyone who visits your profile, as it spans the full width of the page. To take advantage of this area, simply click on the header space to upload your image. You’ll want a 1,500-by-500-pixel background image; and just like other social media sites, Twitter allows you to scale and move the picture to find the most desired positioning. You can now also edit photos or adjust your profile theme and colors in real time instead of having to go to your profile settings.

The overlapping of the profile image and background header enables you to get creative in making these graphics work together. (If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these 13 eye-catching examples of Twitter's new header images.) Overall, the layout of the profile and header images is definitely similar to Facebook, but the full-width header sets Twitter apart, making its profile pages more visual and giving users a larger canvas to get creative.

New Features

In addition to the larger visual elements, there are new features that allow you to show off your top Tweets and enable visitors to easily filter through all the information on your Twitter timeline. Your best Tweets—those that receive the most engagement from followers—now appear larger than the rest. In fact, the font sizes for your most popular posts are nearly double the size of your standard Tweets. This makes your best content easier to find and prevents it from getting buried among other posts.

You can also “amplify your awesomeness,” as Twitter puts it, by pinning one of your Tweets to the top of your page so it can be viewed easily by your followers. This helps promote and spark conversations with your followers regarding specific Tweets and topics that are important to you. For example, as a self-storage business, you may want to “pin” a new promotion or the opening of a new location. Pinned Tweets can be switched out at any time. Although the terminology is different, the act of pinning a Tweet is similar to a function Facebook has, which allows users to highlight a post and have it appear larger and at the top of their Facebook timelines.

Another useful new feature is the ability to filter all Tweets in one seamless timeline. When visitors check out your profile page, they can filter your content by Tweets, Photos/Videos, Following, Followers and Favorites, as well as by Tweets and Replies, which displays conversations visible on your page. The filter menu appears just below the header image.

 

When a filter is clicked, the Tweets that appear on the timeline refresh based on the filter option selected. This new level of control provides a much easier way for people to navigate Twitter timelines and locate content they find most meaningful.

Improving Your Twitter Strategy

Now that you’re familiar with the new design, here are a few helpful tips for developing a Twitter strategy for your storage business.

Optimize your profile. Take the time to optimize your profile page by including a properly sized picture and an eye-catching and creative header photo or graphic that meets Twitter’s new dimensions. When looking for ideas, it never hurts to check out what the competition is doing. There are also websites that offer free galleries of backgrounds you can use. Don’t forget to include a link back to your website and a detailed and keyword-rich business description.

Set realistic goals. It’s natural for executives and marketers to focus on sales and return on investment, but Twitter is not going to be your No. 1 lead source. In fact, it will be far from it. Instead, think of Twitter as a vehicle for participating in relevant discussions and conversations about the industry. Twitter is about building your brand. This is achieved by interacting with customers as well as other companies, experts and vendors you work with on a regular basis. Center your goals on building a following, actively participating in conversations and engaging your audience. Sales should not be the primary goal.

Build your audience. Audience growth should be an ongoing part of your social media strategy. Here are some strategies on building your Twitter following:

• Take advantage of existing client communication, such as e-mail and in-store signage, to reach your current customer base and promote your presence on Twitter.
• Add a Twitter icon to your website that links to your profile.
• Get your employees involved. Employees, families and friends are a great way to build your following.
• Following other users on Twitter is a great way to gain followers, so don’t forget to follow customers, employees and your business partners.

What’s your opinion of the new Twitter design, and how are you using it to better your business? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Michael Solms is marketing manager for Go Local Interactive, a full-service online-marketing agency committed to helping self-storage operators acquire new customers through the creation and execution of results-based solutions. For more information, visit www.golocalinteractive.com.

Active Supply & Design (CDM) Ltd., a U.K.-based builder and design firm specializing in self-storage, has released a study comparing the cost of renting a self-storage unit in the United Kingdom with the rental income that could be achieved from leasing a spare room. The study reviewed information from sources like real estate websites Spareroom.co.uk and Houseshare.com, as well as the 2014 annual survey conducted by the Self Storage Association of the United Kingdom.

It concluded that the difference between renting a self-storage unit and the income achieved from leasing a spare room ranged from £61 per week in Edinburgh, Scotland, to £58.50 in Manchester, England. In London, consumers could expect to profit anywhere from £66.50 to £133.50 per week, according to a press release issued by Attic Self Storage Ltd., a London-based operator with seven facilities.

“This finding will be extremely welcome news to many, with annualized savings ranging from £3,000 in Edinburgh to upwards of £7,000 in London,” Attic officials said in the release. “While the study did not factor in the additional costs associated with self-storage, such as the cost of moving your things into storage, the study also ignored other potential savings which could be achieved [such as] sharing the burden of utility bills at home across more people.”

With the size of new homes decreasing in the U.K., clutter is “silently taking space and quietly costing money, in spare rooms all over the country,” Attic officials said.

Although unemployment is down and inflation remains low in the U.K., wage growth is stagnant, placing pressure on households, according to the release. “Even as unemployment continues to tick down and increasing numbers of people find work, it’s imperative to keep finding new ways of releasing tied-up cash flow,” Attic officials said. “The news that renting out your spare room and placing the contents into a self-storage unit really can prove worthwhile will be very welcome, indeed, to millions across the U.K.”

The U-Haul Co. of West Sacramento will add self-storage services to its U-Haul Center in Manteca, Calif. Acquired by the company in 2012, the former Manteca Auto Plaza at 1190 S. Main St. features a 32,031-square-foot building on 4.18 acres. Rental equipment has been available at the property since 2013. The marketing offices for U-Haul Co. of West Sacramento also operate from the facility.

“The opening of this facility brings an established business to the city of Manteca,” said Chris Trudell, marketing company president of U-Haul Co. of West Sacramento. “We have already received positive feedback regarding our presence and look forward to building a strong relationship with residents in the area. With the addition of self-storage, we will be able to better serve the needs of the community.”

The acquisition of U-Haul Center of Manteca was driven by U-Haul’s corporate sustainability initiatives, which supports infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, according to a company press release. U-Haul’s adaptive reuse of existing buildings eliminates the amount of energy and resources required for new-construction materials and helps local cities diminish their unwanted inventory of unused buildings, U-Haul officials said.

Earlier this month, the U-Haul Co. of Fargo announced it will open a rental facility in a converted building in Williston, N.D., that will eventually offer self-storage and U-Box portable storage. Other recent U-Haul self-storage conversion projects have included the transformation of a former Walmart in Arkansas, a cotton mill in North Carolina and a game center in Tennessee.

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.

The professional cycling team sponsored by SmartStop Self Storage, the retail brand for Strategic Storage Trust Inc., will compete in the 2014 USA Pro Challenge in Colorado, Aug. 18-24. Team SmartStop Pro Cycling includes Michael Torckler, the 2013 Tour of Utah (King of Mountain) competition winner; Travis McCabe, National Race Calendar points leader; and Jure Kocjan, the UCI America team leader.

Team SmartStop is a newcomer to the stage race, a journey through the Colorado Rockies that finishes in Denver. Referred to as “America’s Race,” the event is one of the largest cycling events in U.S. history and the largest spectator event in Colorado’s history, according to a SmartStop press release. The 2014 USA Pro Challenge includes 26 teams. 

“We are extremely proud that Team SmartStop will be competing at this major cycling event,” said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Strategic Storage Trust, a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. “Our team includes the world’s top cyclists, and we are proud of their dedication, determination and skills.”

Most recently, Team SmartStop competed in the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, Aug. 4-10. The event included more than 120 professional cyclists representing 26 countries. The race was the first competition sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s international governing body, since the Tour de France concluded in July. In May, the SmartStop team placed riders first and second at the USA Pro Road Race National Championships.

Launched in 2008, Strategic Storage Trust operates a portfolio of 126 self-storage facilities in 17 states and Canada. The properties comprise approximately 80,000 units and 10.5 million rentable square feet of storage space.

 

 

 

Trends come and go, and this is especially true in the development and construction of self-storage facilities. Think back to when the industry was dominated by single-story buildings sprawled over large tracts of open land, when climate control was a luxury rather than a standard, and buildings retained their industrial look. Today’s projects involve multi-story site plans, climate control, modern materials, retail-style designs, conversions and other innovations. Here’s a brief look at some of these modern approaches to storage.

Better Design and Greater Services

As land costs increase and prime development sites dwindle, many self-storage developers are “going vertical” to create more rentable square footage. “Multi-story buildings are becoming more popular each year,” says Terry Campbell, executive vice president of operations and vice president of sales and marketing for BETCO Inc., a self-storage building manufacturer. “In order to make the numbers work, you have to get as much rentable square footage on that site as possible, which means the building must go up.”

Builders are also experimenting with new design materials and applications to make facilities stand out. This includes the addition of color and texture as well as the incorporation of architectural elements such as cupolas, canopies, brick veneer and pitched roofs. In some cases, various metal panels, materials and styles are alternated in bands or other patterns to achieve a unique look.

Innovative design concepts are also being carried into office, the hub of the property. Reception areas are becoming larger, with higher ceilings and big windows to allow in natural light. They emulate retail stores, with products artfully displayed on walls and in cases. Often a decorative concrete floor is installed for aesthetics and easy maintenance.

Self-storage owners are also exploring ways to diversify their property, says Wayne Woolsey, a principal for self-storage builder Kiwi II Construction Inc. This might includes the addition of a special feature, for example, solar canopies above the vehicle parking. Or it might come in the form of a mixed-use project in which a separate but kindred businesses exist alongside the self-storage operation.

Code Conformity

As building codes evolve and call for more efficient structures, storage developers have responded in creative ways. “With increased energy-code requirements, we’re using more insulated exterior-wall panels,” notes Woolsey.

BETCO is also reacting to code changes. “A climate-controlled building nowadays is a much different animal that it was five years ago,” says Campbell. Developers are packing extra insulation in the roof and walls and even in the concrete slab in some cases.

Other notable changes have been made to the codes for fire ratings, according to Woolsey. In some municipalities, stricter codes require sprinklers and building materials with a higher fire rating. For example, facilities with four or more stories are now required to adhere to strict fire-proofing codes.

Customer Convenience

Another popular building trend is the drive-in or drive-through self-storage facility in which customers actually drive their cars into the building via a large commercial door and enjoy sheltered loading and unloading. Self-storage owner Chris Capozzoli capitalized on this trend when developing Burlington Self Storage in Derry, N.H., the company’s fifth property. The empty building had existing mezzanine, which was extended to create an additional 30,000 square feet of storage space, for a total of 53,000 rentable square feet.

“When I saw the building, I immediately knew we could covert this to drive-in self-storage,” Capozzoli says. “This has not been seen in this area. You drive in the building and out of the weather. The response has been tremendous.”

Conversions Take the Stage

Converting existing structures to self-storage has become a huge trend in the industry, as the supply of empty buildings in infill locations nationwide enables owners to develop single- and even multi-story facilities in established areas—and often quicker than a ground-up project. There are many advantages to conversions, including previously established mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. This can often save a developer time and money. In addition, many city planning boards will be more favorable to a storage project because they’re motivated to repurpose the empty space.

Metro Storage LLC, which operates more than 90 storage facilities in 11 states, recently launched three conversions projects: a former liquor-distribution center in Brown Deer, Wis., a former Dodge auto dealership in Blaine, Minn., and the former Sears Parts and Repair Center building in Bannockburn, Ill. Other developers are following suit, uncovering empty buildings that are ideal for storage conversions in urban and suburban areas.

For example, U-Haul recently converted a former Walmart store in Pine Bluff, Ark. The conversion is just one of many the company has undertaken in the past year as part of its corporate sustainability initiatives, which supports infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, according to company representatives.

While development and construction trends will continue to evolve to meet market demands, one fact will not change: Today’s customers expect more from storage—more diversity, designs, efficiency and, of course, creativity. Fortunately, the industry’s forward-thinking professionals are already there, leading the trends that will make operators successful.