Real estate developer Robert Lynn Co. Inc. has received a favorable recommendation from the Jeffersonville, Ind., Planning Commission for the rezoning of a property earmarked for self-storage. The 6.4-acre parcel along State Road 62 is in front of the Stacy Springs subdivision. The commission voted 5-1 to recommend the zoning change despite some opposition from neighboring residents.

The zoning applicant is the same company that developed the subdivision, according to the source. CEO Robert Lynn said the self-storage facility was part of the neighborhood’s original plan. The parcel was originally zoned for commercial by the county before Jeffersonville annexed the land and is adjacent to a 1.5-acre plot that is already zoned for commercial use, the source reported.

“From all practical standpoints, anybody would understand that on the frontage portion of entrance roads that are being put into development, that it would be more reasonable to have a [commercial] usage and have a proper buffer between that and the rest of your development plan,” Lynn said.

Some residents expressed concerns for the project during the public hearing, citing potential traffic issues and opposition to any commercial development. “If it is going to be something commercial, we do not want mini-storage,” homeowner Tabitha Keeney said. “We would rather it be something more beneficial for the community.”

Lynn said his company reached out to some residents about the self-storage project and found that nine of 15 were in favor. The project would include a 3,100-square-foot building with two entrances and a 6-foot perimeter fence, according to the source. There would also be a 20-foot landscape buffer between the storage facility and the subdivision. The facility would have gated, keypad access and security cameras.

Board member Connie Sellers warned residents that other types of commercial uses, such as restaurants, could bring much higher traffic counts. “That’s when you get the type of traffic that you don’t want back there, people scoping in your homes,” she said. There is a self-storage facility across from Sellers’ neighborhood, and she said traffic impact has been minimal.

Dealpoint Merrill, a subsidiary of The Merrill Group of Cos., a privately held real estate development and property-management firm, has purchased the vacant Baytown Plaza shopping center in Saginaw Township, Mich., including a former Kmart it intends to convert to a self-storage facility. The company also plans to add outdoor boat and RV storage behind the building, according to the source.

The plaza, at 4327-4767 Bay Road, was built in 1975. The Kmart building comprises 97,645 square feet and has been vacant since 2006. The self-storage facility will include climate control, a business center, shipping services, truck rentals, private mail boxes and moving supplies, said Danielle Watson, communications director for Dealpoint.

Dealpoint was attracted to the property due to its high traffic counts and proximity to nearby shopping, residential areas and the world headquarters of The Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich. “It's high growth potential because of the regional mall,” Watson told the source. “The whole area is starting to expand, so we look at that. We have to make sure the property is going to justify self-storage."

Although Dealpoint has not yet submitted its self-storage plans to the township, Bridget Smith, assistant director of community development, said she was encouraged by the project. "I think it's a good fit for the area, especially with college students, the medical school in the city,” she said. “We get a number of calls from people looking for a place to store boats, classic cars, recreational vehicles all the time."

The Saginaw acquisition was one of three recent property transactions closed by Dealpoint, including the May purchase of American Mini Self-Storage in Tucson, Ariz. The 53,401-square-foot facility was acquired through a partnership with Realty Mogul and Platinum Storage Group, according to a Dealpoint press release. The Tucson property has been approved for expansion this year, company officials said.

The Merrill Group of Cos. manages more than 2 million square feet of office and retail assets throughout the nation. Dealpoint executives have acquired more than $2 billion in assets and attracted more than $1 billion in equity for commercial real estate investments, according to the company website.

SpareFoot, an online marketplace for self-storage consumers, has appointed Cory Michner and Emma Nostrand as team leaders of its Client Relations Team, which provides onboarding and implementation for new customers and support for existing ones. Michner will oversee new clients, while Nostrand will handle existing ones. Both will be responsible for training new team members, according to the SpareFoot blog.

Michner is originally from St. Louis, Mo., and Nostrand hails from New Jersey. According to the company, Michner played football for the University of Texas Longhorns; worked as a fly-fishing guide in Alaska, Argentina and Norway; taught English in Argentina; and won a fiction-writing award.

SpareFoot’s Client Relations Team has grown from two people in 2009 to a staff of nearly 20. The company will continue to add team members as more self-storage facilities join SpareFoot.com, according to the blog.

Founded in 2008, SpareFoot helps consumers find and reserve self-storage units, with comparison shopping tools that show real-time availability and exclusive deals. With a network of more than 7,000 storage facilities ranging from mom-and-pop operations to real estate investment trusts, the company reaches prospective storage renters though partnerships with brands including SelfStorage.com, ForRent.com and Penske Truck Rental.

If you’ve researched supply and demand and know a certain community has a need for an additional self-storage facility, the next challenge is to pick a location. Deciding on a site for a new storage project is one of the most important decisions you’ll make during the development process.

Many developers focus on one location, and that in itself can be a mistake. If a deal falls apart, they’re back to square one. Instead, looking at multiple sites or even several communities will not only help you move ahead with the best possible project, it can give you a “plan B.”

Whether you’re considering a new build, a self-storage conversion or a mixed-use project, here are some important considerations to keep in mind when choosing potential sites.

New Build

Here are some things to consider if you’re seeking a site for new construction. In addition to the major factors, you need to understand what other limitations or expenses are associated with the land, such as storm-water management, easements, site prep and soil quality, and others.

Visibility. Ideally, the self-storage doors should be highly visible. Your greatest source of business is usually drive-by traffic. In some areas, you can use height to overcome poor visibility. A corner tower that features signage or displays doors through large windows—normally false ones for show—can serve as a beacon to draw clients to your business.

Accessibility. A site with good visibility is not always readily accessible. Poor accessibility is a problem if there are competing sites with good access (and vacancy), but don’t rule this site out.

Proximity to population. The closer the site is to a populated area, the better. A facility close to a dense population can do very well even with poor physical visibility or access, as long as it has good visibility on the Internet. In established areas, you can safely pick this type of location if you’re closer to the population than other competitors and there’s no other land that’s more visible.

Topography. A flat, level site is the easiest on which to build, however, don’t overlook sites with elevation changes that could facilitate the construction of a two-story structure built into the side of a hill. When both levels of the building can be entered at grade level, you double your rentable square footage and increase your ratio of rentable space to pavement.

Parcel shape. A rectangular parcel is ideal, but one of the great things about self-storage is you can adapt to odd-sized parcels that might not be useful for other purposes. The ideal location allows for buildings running north to south to facilitate ice melting, as the sun hits both sides of each building over the course of the day. For greater security, a layout where you can see between the buildings from the main road is preferable.

Cost. All things being equal, cheaper land is obviously better. But what’s more important is to weigh the land cost against the rental rates. When developing a facility on a more expensive parcel, it makes more sense to consider multi-story and temperature-controlled storage to maximize land coverage. When looking at land cost, also consider the cost of site preparation.

Size. Too big and you’ll be carrying a loan for land that isn’t producing income. Too small and you won’t have room to grow. The “right” size varies depending on your local demand and how quickly you need to break even. In most cases, you’re looking for two to five acres of land. Expect that you’ll be able to convert about 30 percent to 35 percent of it to rentable space for a project with drive-up units. To reach the breakeven point quickly, phase the facility rather than build it all at once.

Storm-water management. If you haven’t developed in a while or are new to the process, this topic is important to understand. Storm-water and runoff regulations have become significantly stricter in recent years, and municipalities are requiring more and larger retention ponds than in the past. Even if a seller tells you the land is served by an existing pond, check with your city engineer to be sure it’s sized properly to handle your proposed development.
The cost to simply engineer the pond can be significant, and it’s an upfront cost that you’ll likely incur before you have financing in place. A pond can also eat into the developable area, so you need to know what size you need when working up site plans.

Easements. Check with the office that manages land records for your county or city, and understand all setbacks and easements. Utilities, highway setbacks, intersection sightlines and access easements can quickly reduce the actual buildable area.

Site prep and soil quality. When evaluating sites, estimate the cost involved with preparing for pavement and buildings. How much will it cost to remove topsoil? How much fill will you need to bring in? Does the site have any poor-quality fill that impacts your project? The cost to prep a site can quickly add up, so one that doesn’t need as much work is a big plus, even if it costs more to purchase. Extensive site prep can also add time to the development process and delay your opening date.

Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) districts. Is the land part of a TIF district? If so, the seller may require that you agree to a development schedule or minimum property-tax agreement.

Conversion Projects

Your best location might not be vacant land. Scour your target area for large, empty warehouses and you just might find a building ripe for a self-storage conversion. These projects offer a number of benefits. First, a conversion might be the only option for placing a project in an established area. In addition, a conversion is often faster to bring to market, since it’s a renovation project rather than new construction. You’ll also avoid the cost of grading, paving and bringing in utilities. In most cases, the buildings are already temperature-controlled, or they easily can be through the replacement of old equipment.

Cedarburg Storage Co. in Cedarburg, Wis., is a great example of a conversion as well as a mixed-use property. In addition to offering large units and interior vehicle storage, the site is home to the owner’s snow and landscaping firm and an Internet-based business.

The challenge is to effectively convey the building’s new purpose as self-storage. The same location factors noted earlier also apply to conversion projects; however, as you consider properties, look for areas where you can install a bank of doors visible through large windows. If the city allows it, false doors can be installed across a section of the exterior.

Here are some additional factors to consider when purchasing a building for conversion:

• Is there a good location to set up an indoor loading/unloading area? Most new facilities of this type will have indoor loading or, at minimum, a well-sheltered area. Loading docks of existing buildings can be converted by filling in the sunken dock.
• If it’s a multi-story structure, does it have a good elevator? These are expensive but necessary.
• Does the building have adequate fire protection? Find out what the sprinkler and firewall requirements are before buying. Adding either will greatly affect the construction budget.
• Does the property offer additional land where traditional units could be built? If converting a former retail location, the parking lot is probably large enough to hold a new building as well.

Mixed-Use Projects

One of the great things about self-storage is it can complement many other businesses. It can be developed in combination with carwashes, apartments, restaurants, construction firms, car-repair businesses and more. Including an additional business may also increase city council or planning commission acceptance of the project.

In most cases, mixed-use projects are treated as separate buildings on the same or adjoining parcels, but they can also be built as a single building that houses multiple businesses. Typically, one business exists first, and then a second is added to provide greater revenue and take advantage of existing support and infrastructure.

Every mixed-use project is different. For the more complex ones, an architect or local general contractor can be a valuable resource for the office and portions of the construction other than the self-storage structures.

Whether you pursue a new build, conversion or part of a mixed-use development, it’s important to remember the fundamentals. Go into the process armed with accurate data on supply and demand in your market as well as realistic rent projections, and you should do well.

Steve Hajewski is the marketing manager at Trachte Building Systems, which designs, manufactures and erects a full line of pre-engineered and customized steel self-storage systems, including single- and multi-story, portable storage, interior partition and corridor, and canopy boat/RV. He’s also a frequent contributor on Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community. For more information, call 800.356.5824; visit www.trachte.com.

Have you ever paid attention to the coaches on the sideline of a winning team? They often don’t look like they could step on the field and throw the winning pass or make the game-clinching shot. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not slighting the coach. Coaches know their job is forming the team and staff, installing the vision, and making sure the players perform and execute at a level that gives the team a chance to win.

If you’re building a new self-storage project, you don’t have to be an expert; but you do need to assemble a team of knowledgeable people. You need to be “the coach.”

A Tale of Two Business Owners

I know a business owner who’s a visionary at a high level. He took a small family business with a couple of employees and grew it into an entity with $100 million in assets and more than 1,000 staff members. This guy’s the type we all look up to in business. When he started looking at self-storage as a new venture, his first questions were all about the team: “Who do I need to plan? Who do I need to build? What are the steps to taking this idea from paper to project? Who are my key players?” He’ll be successful.

Another business owner, who is a friend, started a new business (not self-storage) and asked me what I thought it would take for him to be successful. Knowing he was a true expert in his industry, with blue-collar, hands-on experience, I told him he would have to stop working with his hands and start working with his brain. He decided he would do both. Every month, he laments at how hard it is to keep the business going and keep his customers happy. His hands-on, be-the-worker-bee approach has really limited his success.

In this article, I’m going to define the key-player needs for the new self-storage developer/owner and help you assemble your winning construction team. I want you to be successful in casting your vision, building your team, building your project and winning your market.

Cast the Vision

Your immediate job as “head coach” of your project is to install the vision. You may be naturally visionary, seeing the big picture, or you may be analytical and detail-oriented, or a combination. That’s OK. Use your strengths as an advantage, whatever they may be. Be aware of your own weaknesses. Where you are weak, you just need a mitigating strategy.

Understand who your competitors will be, how you’ll compete and how you’ll go from nothing to a market leader. You can hire a guy to dissect and analyze the market, but you’re the one to implement a plan of attack for winning—and it starts with your vision.

Knowing what is and isn’t working inside your small market can be a good place to start in setting guideposts for your new project. In almost every market, there’s an array of competitors. When developing a game plan, focus on market leaders. That’s who you want to compete with, not the guy with 50 units and a rickety fence who built 20 years ago.

As you develop your vision, run it by others you trust. If you’re considering a multi-million-dollar project, you have people in your own network who are savvy and successful. These advisors might be like your assistant coaches, making suggestions along the way for seeing the vision grow into an actual competitive project. Sharing your ideas in the concept stage and inviting input from others will strengthen your overall vision.

Your Key Players

For a new self-storage project, a few players are in clearly defined roles. As the coach defining the vision, you must facilitate the discussions, set the expectations and let these players perform, while ultimately holding them accountable for their respective roles. Here’s who you should include on your team.

Project manager. Sometimes, this is you. Someone has to coordinate the team in the same direction. Project managers are invaluable for keeping the inertia of the project moving, managing a timeline and overall budget, and transitioning the project from site selection to design to bidding to entitlements to construction to marketing to management of the new business.

Industry consultant. Your first step after identifying a site will be quantifying demand and what your market will bear in terms of new development. An industry expert with no bias will help you identify the good, bad and ugly of your idea, from concept to construction.

Site-planning engineer. This is a critical part of your team. Your engineer will survey and map your site concept, generate site-construction documents, answer questions from local planning authorities, develop stormwater and utilities plans, and get it all on paper for the rest of the team. He’ll also stake elevations and building corners, and answer your site contractor’s questions. He’ll attend meetings as necessary to gain approval, and work with the rest of your team to tie elements of the project together.
Your engineer can take a rough concept and tell you what you’re missing. He might not always be familiar with the intricacies of self-storage site design, but he should know and understand the local codes and ordinances to which your project must conform.

Architect. If you’re building self-storage today, curb appeal matters. Architects can do a little for your project or a lot, but their input is always important. Good architects have unique talents in design. Their input translates into a better end product for you, your managers and your tenants. Aside from dressing up industrial-looking steel buildings, an architect will design an office and retail area that flows, landscape that’s inviting, and systems and lighting that enhance appeal and function. Architects can lead the entire design process or provide input as needed, even on a consultative basis.

General contractor (GC). Not all GCs are created equal. Some specialize in self-storage, some handle only construction. Some assist in or even lead the design process. Input during pre-development from a contractor can streamline a new construction project from start to finish. Once the project moves into the construction phase, the GC should be responsible for all the details and coordination until your new business opens.

Keep the Goal in Mind

Don’t forget your main goal! You set out to build self-storage not because you want steel buildings or pretty landscaping. You want to rent units. You want to lead the market. You want to pass an asset onto the next generation. You chose self-storage because you can manage a lot of income with few employees. You want out of the rat race. Whatever your motivation, keep your overall operation strategy in mind from the beginning. Your vision should build the team, guide the plays, install the playbook and, ultimately, satisfy your original goals.

Cast the vision. Build the right team. Build the right project. Win your market.

Benjamin Burkhart owns StorageStudy.com and BKB Properties. As a self-storage owner and consultant, he works with other owners and developers to identify and qualify market opportunities. He specializes in feasibility studies, market analysis, investment modeling and design consulting. To reach him, call 804.598.8742; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.storagestudy.com.

U-Haul Co. of Fargo has opened a rental facility in a converted building in Williston, N.D., that will eventually offer self-storage and U-Box portable storage. The 5,124-square-foot building at 5125 Frontage Road W. has been rebranded as U-Haul Moving and Storage of Williston. Customers can currently rent trucks and trailers, and purchase moving supplies, company officials said in a press release.

"This region has experienced an extreme population increase, making Williston one of the fastest growing areas in North America," said Shawn Odden, marketing company president of U-Haul Co. of Fargo. "By having U-Haul services available, we are able to help more people move in and around the area. We are excited to assist this growing area with all of its moving and storage needs."

The Williston facility is on 3.13 acres. 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 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, Aug. 4-10. Team SmartStop Pro Cycling will join 128 professional cyclists, representing 26 countries, riding in the event. The race is the first competition sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s international governing body, since the Tour de France concluded last month.

Riders for SmartStop will include reigning Canadian National Road Champion Zach Bell, 2013 Tour of Utah KOM Competition Winner Michael Torckler and Elite National Criterium Champion Travis McCabe. The team placed riders first and second at the USA Pro Road Race National Championships in May.

The race will stretch from southern Utah to the Wasatch Front, a metropolitan region along the Wasatch mountain range in the north-central part of the state. The seven-stage event will begin in Cedar City and finish in Park City.

"We are excited that Team SmartStop will be part of this prestigious event," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Strategic Storage Trust, a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. "We're proud of our team of world-class professionals, who represent our philanthropic desire to keep our communities healthy and promote an active lifestyle."

In addition to Bell, McCabe and Torckler, the team returns 2013 members Flavio De Luna, Shane Kline, Travis Livermon, Eric Marcotte and Adam Myerson. Newcomers include Joshua Berry, Rob Britton, Cameron Cogburn, Shane Haga, Jure Kocjan and Julian Kyer.

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

Inside Self-Storage (ISS) has announced the winners of its 2014 "Best of Business" reader-choice poll, in which readers voted for their favorite industry suppliers in 35 categories. Voters chose their top companies in categories such as Best Call-Center Services, Most Innovative Product, Best Lock, Best Tech Support, Best Online Directory and many others. The winners for this year, based on verified voting through insideselfstorage.com from June 9 through July 7, can be viewed at www.insideselfstorage.com/best-of-business/2014/index.aspx.

ISS congratulates its esteemed winners, each of which will be featured in the November print edition of ISS magazine. The winners will also be honored with a special commemorative plaque at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, April 7-9, 2015. Details will be released as the event approaches.