NAI Horizon brokers American sale

 

American Self Storage & Mail Center in Chandler, Arizona, has sold to a Phoenix investor for $8.35 million.

American Self Storage & Mail Center totals 59,239 NRSF and 652 units.

 

It is located at 12220 E. Riggs Road in Chandler.   

NAI Horizon senior vice president Denise Nunez and associate Victoria Filice represented the seller, Lawhead Family LLC of Apache Junction, Arizona, and secured the buyer, 535 Wilmot Investors, LLC of Phoenix.

The project was built in 1999 and includes plans to develop five concrete pads for additional climate-controlled and drive-up units.

Nunez specializes in self storage, offering localized expertise in Arizona and national representation working with NAI offices throughout the U.S.

 

Colliers brokers Texas sale

 

Kyle Newswanger and Justin Beck of Colliers International brokered the sale of Private Warehouse Mini-Storage, a self storage facility located in Pflugerville, Texas, a suburb of Austin. Private Warehouse Mini-Storage is located at 612 Farm-to-Market 685.

Newswanger had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller. The buyer was an out-of-state private investor. The facility comprises 24,000 square feet in 207 units and was initially built 1995 before being further expanded in 1997 and 2002.

 

SBOA adds HVAC services for members

 

The Storage Business Owners Alliance LLC (“SBOA”), the nationwide self storage buying group, has launched a new online marketplace to deliver on-demand HVAC equipment and labor to its members. Self storage owners and operators can purchase HVAC equipment direct online for their company or personal portfolio, at a preferred price.

“The Marketplace portal connects SBOA members directly to our vendor partners via our website. We have been working with Motili to bring even more value to our members with this eCommerce solution,” said Jeniece Carter-Rae, president of the SBOA. 

Self storage facility owners and operators typically do not have access to manufacture direct HVAC equipment and labor quotes.

 

Canada’s Blue Bird opens Ontario facility

 

Bluebird Self Storage will complete construction of a Class A self storage facility at 1580 Victoria Street E. in Whitby, Ontario, in early August 2020.

The four-story facility is located at the intersection of Thickson Road and Victoria Street E.

It is 130,000 square feet and includes 990 climate-controlled units. 

“While rooftop growth has skyrocketed, Whitby and Oshawa residents have little or no nearby access to modern climate-controlled self-storage options,” said Reade DeCurtins, principal of Bluebird Self Storage.

The facility will be managed by Life Storage, Inc.

 

Janko, Blue Ribbon open Illinois storage

 

Janko Group, LLC and Blue Ribbon Capital, LLC jointly opened a new Class A self storage facility at 1991 W. Haven Avenue in New Lenox, Illinois. It will be branded and managed by Life Storage, Inc.

The facility also has an indoor drive-thru aisle down the center of the entire building for convenient, climate-controlled loading and unloading – an amenity that will be much appreciated during the harsh Chicago winters. 

The facility features 630 climate-controlled units and 36 drive-up non-climate controlled boat or RV units, covering roughly 100,000 rentable square feet.

Chapple Design Build served as general contractor on the development, and Timothy Morgan Associates served as architect of record.

 

SmartStop initiates solar panel projects

 

SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. has completed its first solar panel project as part of a broader company-wide initiative to reduce SmartStop's carbon footprint and become more energy efficient. The project at Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, was designed and installed in cooperation with Warner Energy, LLC.

The panels, which were installed at SmartStop's Mt. Pleasant location, are expected to collectively contribute energy output of 61.38 kilowatt photovoltaics (kW PV), resulting in an annualized savings of 81,500 kilowatt hours (kWh). At full capacity, the electricity savings generated from this system is equivalent to replacing or removing greenhouse gas emissions from about 12.4 passenger vehicles driven for one year.

SmartStop plans to deploy similar installations at various locations throughout the U.S. and Canada over the course of the next few years, including 10 projects installed by the end of 2020, which are projected to generate over 1.3 million kWh each year.

SmartStop is the tenth-largest self storage company in the U.S., with an owned and managed portfolio of 144 properties in 19 states and Toronto, Canada and comprising approximately 96,000 units and 10.9 million rentable square feet.

 

Eastern New York retail to be converted

 

A vacant Toys “R” Us building in Jefferson Valley, New York, may be converted to self storage, according to Tapinto.net.

Wegman Companies of Rochester and Columbia Pacific of Seattle have partnered to develop a self storage facility in the 45,000-square-foot building.

The project backs up to Route 6.

 

Sentry releases 2Q results

 

Coral Springs, Florida-based Sentry Self Storage Management announced operating results for the second quarter. Among the highlights were: a 7% year over year increase in net operating income (NOI). Portfolio occupancy held steady at 88%. Expansion is currently in progress at two properties, one located in Boca Raton, Florida, and the other in Tampa, Florida, with anticipated completion dates in 2020.

Sentry is also in the initial planning phases for a new store in East Boca Raton, Florida. Estimated completion is 2021.

 

Merit Hill co-sponsors first securitization

 

Brooklyn-based Merit Hill Capital is co-sponsoring its first securitization involving a newly issued $323.85 million cash-out refinancing loan secured by a portfolio of 78 properties across the country, according to National Mortgage News.

Merit Hill Capital will market six classes of commercial-mortgage backed term bonds as well as two interest-only tranches of notes and commercial paper via the Merit 2020-HILL trust, according to Moody’s Investors Services.

The notes will be funded through the receivables from the self storage properties that were 90.7% occupied for the twelve months prior to May 2020. The units are located in 42 metropolitan statistical areas in 23 states.

The self storage units are primarily older properties (weighted average age of 33 years), and are managed under third-party arrangements with CubeSmart, ExtraSpace and Life Storage.

Merit Hill has been acquiring self storage units since 2017, when the newly founded firm was infused with a $300 million equity investment by Centerbridge Partners.

 

Absolute, SRM open new Florida storage

 

Absolute Storage Investments has partnered with SRM Storage LLC to open a new location named Absolute Storage of Mary Esther in Mary Esther, Florida, according to Benzinga.

The newly constructed facility at 300 Mary Esther Boulevard, comprises 53,232 square feet of rentable storage space in 454 units.

This new facility is located on the east side of Santa Rosa Mall on Mary Esther Boulevard.

ASI and SRM Storage LLC are partnering with Absolute Storage Management to provide professional self storage management. ASM is one of the largest private, third-party self storage management company in the United States. Founded in 2002, the company operates over 140 properties in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

 

Svensson leaves PSA for BH Properties

 

Los Angeles-based real estate investment company BH Properties has hired Erik Svensson as senior managing director and CFO. Svensson was most recently vice president, acquisitions and commercial real estate, at Public Storage, where he served for 10 years. In that role he was responsible for the firm’s US CRE portfolio.

With BH Properties, Svensson will join the firm’s investment committee and will strengthen accounting and position the company for growth.