Real Estate Roundup: Self-Storage Transactions March 2016

Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Many are covered in detail on the ISS website and available for viewing on the “Real Estate” topics page. Following are additional acquisitions and sales that weren’t covered independently due to missing information such as buyer, seller, sale price or other relevant details.

Affordable Self Storage in Norwalk, Conn., was sold for $19 million. The property at 162 Bouton St. comprises 77,760 net rentable square feet of storage space in 879 units, 477 of which offer climate control. Built in 1989, it sits on nearly 4 acres.

Brett Hatcher, vice president of investments, and Joseph Holloway, associate, in the Columbus, Ohio, office of commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer in the transaction. They also represented the seller, a private partnership based in Darien, Conn., listed under the name Paul and John Hertz.

All American Self Storage in Longwood, Fla., was sold to a private investor. The property at 460 Florida Central Parkway comprises 65,510 net rentable square feet of storage space in 540 units, 91 of which offer climate control, as well as12 vehicle-parking spaces. The buyer and the seller, also a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Michael A. Mele, senior vice president of investments in the Marcus & Millichap Tampa, Fla., office and senior director of the firm’s National Self Storage Group.

Aunt Kitty’s Kubbyholes in Westminster, Md., was sold for $1.28 million to a self-storage investor. The property at 1715 Old Liberty Road W. is 25 miles northwest of Baltimore. Built in 1996, the single-story facility on 1.53 acres comprises 12,550 square feet of storage space in 90 units.

The buyer and seller were represented in the transaction by Kevin Bledsoe, brokerage advisor for Investment Real Estate LLC (IRE). “The seller built the property on a parcel that had been in his family for several generations, and it held a lot of sentimental value,” he said.

Barry's Storage in Decatur, Ill., was sold. Constructed in 1999, the property at 5465 E. U.S. Route 36 comprises 76,600 net rentable square feet of storage space in 13 single-story buildings. It also has vacant land for expansion. The facility includes 547 storage units, the majority of which offer climate control, as well as 34 vehicle-parking spaces. The buyer and the seller were represented in the transaction by Mele and Sean M. Delaney, senior director in the Marcus & Millichap Chicago/Oak Brook office.

Diamond Self Storage, a 44,793-square-foot facility in Beverly Hills, Fla., was sold to a private investor. Built in 2002, the property at 4239 N. Modelwood Drive sits on 2.84 acres and contains 425 units. The buyer and the seller, a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Mele as well as Luke Elliott, senior associate, and Brian Baldwin, associate, also from the Marcus & Millichap Tampa office.

Fountainebleau Self Storage & Apartments, a mixed-use property in New Orleans, was sold. Originally built as the Fontainebleau Motor Hotel in 1966, the multi-story property was redeveloped in 1993 to include 602 storage units, 100 apartments and 85 music studios. The property also includes three cell towers and a ground-floor lease with fast-food chain Burger King.

The property is primarily comprised of indoor, climate-controlled units and a manager’s office. The top three stories of the storage building house the music studios, which average 500 square feet each. The four-story apartment building offers 100 one-bedroom, one-bath residences, averaging 600 square feet each. The buyer and the seller were represented in the transaction by Charles “Chico” LeClaire, senior vice president of investments, and Adam Schlosser, vice president of investments, of The LeClaire Group and the Denver office of Marcus & Millichap.

Issaquah Newport Way Storage in Issaquah, Wash., was sold for $289 per square foot. Built in 2009, the property at 795 N.W. Juniper St. includes a four-story building containing 518 climate-controlled units.

The seller, a local limited-liability company, was represented in the transaction by LeClaire. Golden & Associates represented the buyer, a local family trust.

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT), a real estate investment trust (REIT), purchased Affordable Storage Solutions in Pueblo, Colo., for $3 million, and rebranded it as SecurCare Self Storage. The property at 90 Greenhorn Drive comprises 50,810 square feet of storage space in 396 climate-controlled and drive-up units. Built in phases from 2008 to 2014, it includes single- and two-story structures.

LeClaire and Schlosser represented the seller, a local private investor. “This acquisition further illustrates the willingness of our industry’s largest companies to enter secondary and tertiary markets if the quality and yield is there,” Schlosser said.

Pak-n-Stak and Pak-n-Stor in Newnan, Ga., were sold for $719,617 and $585,383, respectively, to an out-of-state, limited-liability company. The Pak-n-Stak facility at 205 Elzie Johnson Road is 30 minutes from downtown Atlanta and includes 35,430 square feet of storage space. The second property is eight miles southwest at 28 Hillwood Circle. It comprises 29,250 square feet of storage space. Neither of the properties had onsite management. The buyer and the seller, a private investor, were represented by Stacey Gorman, senior director of the Marcus & Millichap Atlanta office.

Plantation Storage in Columbia, S.C., was sold to an out-of-state investment firm for more than $96 per rentable square foot. The buyer formed an LLC to acquire the facility. Opened in 1996, the property at 810 Sparkleberry Lane features 14 buildings on more than 3.4 acres. It comprises 62,470 net rentable square feet of space in 462 climate-controlled and drive-up units. The property also includes a rental office and manager’s apartment. Midcoast Properties Inc. President Dale C. Eisenman represented the seller.

Your Space Self Storage LLC acquired South Hudsonville Self-Storage in Hudsonville, Mich., from a group of investors. It’s the fifth property Your Space has purchased in the region. The company recently converted a portion of the former Aslan Building at 600 7th St. N.W. in Grand Rapids, Mich., to storage and purchased a U-Haul International Inc. dealership in Holland, Mich. The property at 4254 Central Parkway is in the Jamestown Commerce Park, a 10-building property. It also operates as a U-Haul dealership.

"With the economy in West Michigan continuing to show strength, we see the self-storage sector as a key part of the region's growth, because access to storage facilities is critical for families and small businesses in the area," said Andre Gardzella, owner of Your Space.

Since its inception in 1998, IRE has provided brokerage, construction, development and management services to self-storage owners and investors. Its construction arm, founded in 2000, has built more than 2 million square feet of self-storage space in eight states.

Marcus & Millichap is a commercial-property investment firm with more than 1,500 investment professionals in offices throughout the United States and Canada.

Midcoast Properties offers brokerage services to self-storage owners and investors in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colo., NSAT is a self-administered and -managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The company has 292 self-storage facilities in 17 states comprising approximately 17 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.

Founded in 2015, Your Space Self-Storage acquires and manages five storage facilities in in West Michigan. Its portfolio includes more than 1,400 units including vehicle-parking spaces.