U-Haul Co. of Southwest Ohio plans to convert a former Big Lots store into a self-storage facility in Huber Heights, Ohio, the company’s first in the area. The property at 6550-6660 Brandt Pike has been rebranded as U-Haul Moving and Storage of Huber Heights. The single-story building encompasses 94,433 square feet of storage space on 6.63 acres.

Constructed in 1974, the facility currently features a temporary showroom offering truck and trailer rentals, moving supplies, and U-Box pod rentals. Early plans for the property include the addition of self-storage and a line of U-Haul equipment and products.

“This is U-Haul Co.’s first store in Huber Heights, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to serve the community,” said Drew Case, marketing company president. “We are happy to bring U-Haul into the Huber Heights community and look forward to building a relationship with local businesses and residents.”

The opening of the Huber Heights store 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.

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.

Australian-based Storage King recently opened a new self-storage facility in Helensvale, Queensland, Australia. Designed and constructed by Steel Storage Holdings Pty. Ltd., an international construction and development firm, the four-story property was designed to reduce operational costs, present an appealing façade, improve the customer experience and maximize the rentable area, according to a Steel Storage press release.

The property at 128 Siganto Drive features a drive-through in the middle of the building, enabling construction to the edge of the lot. The building includes large windows on the front office and horizontal and color cladding. Black concrete was installed in the drive areas, and charcoal soffits were added in the drive-through to add design appeal, according to the release.

The reduction of operational costs was achieved through a number of features, including rooftop solar panels and mechanical ventilation with whirly birds in the roof to reduce electricity costs. Other features include a self-service rental kiosk, two types of elevators, a large retail area, free WiFi, a unit display to guide customers on unit-size selection, and a sink in the loading/unloading area.

The property uses a PTI Security Australasia access-control system compatible with the company’s smartphone apps, StorLogix and EasyCode. StorLogix allows the facility managers to remotely control doors and suspend access to late-paying customers. Tenants can use the EasyCode app to access the site. Additional security features include video cameras and individual unit alarms.

Steel Storage provides a full range of construction and development services to self-storage operators in Asia, Australia and Europe. It has offices in Brisbane, Australia; London; Paris and Singapore.

Storage King operates more than 140 facilities in Australia and New Zealand.

Florida-based self-storage operator iStorage has secured a $50 million revolving line of credit as part of a total debt recapitalization. The company will use the money to replace existing loans, for general working capital and to fund future expansion, according to a press release issued by The BSC Group, a financing adviser specializing in self-storage, which negotiated the deal. The transaction includes a portfolio of 19 self-storage properties in seven states.

“The combination of low interest rates and tremendous liquidity in the debt market make it an optimal time to help our clients find ways to lower their cost of funds,” said Shawn Hill, a principal with BSC. “A revolving facility also streamlines the borrowing process by creating greater flexibility and speed of execution.”

The three-year loan was funded by an unidentified national bank and features a variable rate of 2.25 percent above LIBOR, with no amortization requirements and open prepayment, according to the release.

“The BSC Group negotiated an ideal structure to replace an existing, inflexible credit line we had with Bank of America. It is rare to find a large bank that truly understands your business needs, willing to structure a credit facility with maximum flexibility and great pricing in order to provide a catalyst for growth,” said Chris Harris, president of iStorage. “The BSC Group clearly understood our objective and identified the correct lender to make it a reality, and we could not be more pleased with the outcome.”

Formed in 2009, BSC provides financial and loan advisory, mortgage brokerage, and loan-workout solutions to commercial real estate owners and investors, with a special emphasis on the self-storage market. Through its capital source network, the company provides access to debt and equity financing for commercial real estate investments nationwide.

iStorage operates 60 self-storage facilities throughout Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Red Dot Storage, a Colorado-based self-storage operator, has purchased a facility in Genoa City, Wis. The property at 180 Elizabeth Lane comprises more than 55,000 square feet of rentable space in approximately 175 units. The acquisition is the company’s 10th location overall and second in Wisconsin, officials said in a press release.

Facility features include Red Dot’s automated, 24-hour rental center, an updated perimeter fence, a new access-control gate system and new security cameras.

“We are excited to announce the acquisition of our second property in the southern Wisconsin area,” said Seth Bent, president. “We are looking forward to an increased presence in Wisconsin and will continue to pursue new locations across the region.”

The Red Dot brand is operated by Sparkplug Capital LLC, headquartered in Boulder, Colo. The company launched last year with one property in Rockford, Ill., and quickly expanded. In addition to the Genoa City facility, the company recently acquired storage properties in Oswego and Woodstock, Ill., and Janesville, Wis. Red Dot now operates eight self-storage facilities in Illinois and two in Wisconsin.

Update 9/17/14 – Valet self-storage startup SpaceWays announced it will expand services to Paris. The company will offer the same slate of pickup and delivery services through an online platform as it does in London. It believes Paris is a viable market due to a proliferation of small apartments and inadequate storage in homes, according to the source.

Rocket Internet, the Germany-based venture-capital firm that launched SpaceWays, also announced it is planning a public stock offering later this year, the source reported.

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7/3/14 – Rocket Internet, a Germany-based venture-capital firm specializing in e-commerce and business startups, is entering the London self-storage market behind a new company called SpaceWays. The startup will offer valet-style storage services, including pickup, delivery and bin storage, through an online platform.

"We are bringing technology and added customer service to an old-fashioned industry in hopes of expanding the market," Rob Rebholz, one of three SpaceWays co-founders hired by Rocket Internet, told the source.

The business will target customers who generally need to store only small quantities of items and promote the on-demand aspects of its services. The company offers free delivery of its storage bins or pickup of oversized items. Monthly storage fees begin at £6 per bin or oversized item on a minimum three-month contract, and the company will deliver as many bins or oversized items as a customer requires for £19, according to the website.

"If you store your entire household, you wouldn't do that with us,” Rebholz said. He also indicated SpaceWays intends to offer storage of larger quantities as well as moving services for residential and business customers in the future.

Rocket Internet took SpaceWays from concept to execution in eight weeks, according to the source, but is leveraging expertise and companies within its infrastructure to scale the business quickly. It has tapped warehousing expertise from sister company Zalando, an online fashion retailer, and is partnering with established warehouse and delivery firms that company officials declined to identify.

Co-founder David Fuchs will run the SpaceWays global operation and supply chain from the London office. Fuchs previously ran business intelligence at Rocket Internet company Dafiti Mexico, a tech startup, and began his career at J.P. Morgan Investment Bank in London. The third co-founder is Martin Twellmeyer, who previously was a management consultant at Bain & Co. and worked as an investment manager for a private equity fund.

Rebholz began his career as a management consultant at consulting firm A.T. Kearney and later founded an e-commerce company. He is managing director of SpaceWays and will be responsible for marketing and public relations. "Our vision is to be the No. 1 storage company worldwide that provides logistics or storage services to end users," Rebholz said.

Companies affiliated with Rocket Internet offer online shopping for domestic cleaning services, financial services, groceries and taxis in more than 100 countries. The Internet incubator has planned an initial public offering for later this year that could value the firm at between €3 billion and €5 billion, according to the source.

SpaceWays enters the U.K. valet storage market on the heels of LoveSpace, which launched last November and recently raised more than £1.5 million through the online crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

The Store Room, a self-storage company based in Manchester, England, has expanded each of its six locations and plans to increase its workforce by 10 percent, according to the source. The expansion comes after the company secured £2.4 million in funding from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

“Previous self-storage facilities were often in unwelcoming buildings with no one on hand to help or advise customers,” Jeremy Bradburn, owner and managing director of The Store Room, told the source. “Combined, we have more than 40 years’ experience working in the retail sector, so we decided to use those skills to develop a friendly business with approachable, fully trained staff.”

The storage operator expects to double revenue within the next two years, the source reported. Bradburn credited an upturn in the British housing market and increased confidence among companies in spurring the storage business during the last year. “The expansion of our facilities will help us take advantage of these growth opportunities,” he said.

The Lloyds bank loan was made through the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). Under the FLS program, banks offer a 1 percent discount for businesses across all sectors for the life of a loan, according to the source.

Established in 2007 and headquartered in Manchester, The Store Room operates self-storage facilities in the English communities of Bradford, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Preston and Rotherham.

Metro Storage LLC, which operates more than 90 self-storage facilities in 11 states, has acquired the four-store Metro Mini & RV Storage portfolio in the Minneapolis suburbs of Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Mound and Orono, Minn. The acquisition adds 208,000 rentable square feet of storage space, 1,500 units and 450 RV-parking spaces to the company’s existing Minnesota portfolio. Metro Storage has an existing facility in Maple Grove, Minn., and will open a storage-conversion project in Blaine in the first quarter of 2015.

“We’ve been in the Minneapolis market with our Maple Grove store for a few years now and welcome this opportunity to expand our presence,” said Matthew Nagel, chairman. “The addition of the Metro Mini stores as well as the Blaine facility fit well with our current business model and future growth plans.”

The facilities feature interior loading bays, climate control, exterior drive-up units, video cameras, keypad gate access and RV/boat-storage spaces. All four locations will offer Penske truck rentals. The acquisition includes: 

• 6200 W. Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington, which has six single-story buildings with 391 units, 182 vehicle-parking spaces and a 40-watt solar-panel system.
• 6851 Flying Cloud Drive in Eden Prairie, which has three single-story buildings and one two-story building with 397 units and 50 post-office boxes.
• 5300 Shoreline Drive in Mound, which is part of a light-industrial complex that was the former home to toy manufacturer Tonka Toy Co. It consists of a single-story, 52,870-square-foot, climate-controlled building. An area north of the storage building offers 85 RV/boat-parking spaces.
• 2725 W. Wayzata Boulevard in Orono, which was converted to self-storage in 2012. It includes 313 units, 67 heated units, and 114 exterior spaces with electrical access for RV/boat parking.

“These stores round out our ability to better serve the storage needs of the surrounding community,” said CEO Blair Nagel. “With climate-controlled units, extensive boat and RV parking, and truck rentals, we’re positioned for continued success in the Minneapolis area.”

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Ill., Metro Storage is a privately owned, fully integrated real estate operating company specializing in the development, acquisition and management of self-storage facilities in the United States, where it operates as Metro Self Storage, and Brazil, where it operates as MetroFit.