New Hampshire Self Storage Expands Guilford Facility

New Hampshire Self Storage celebrated the grand opening of the addition of new “toy box” units on the hillside near its Guilford Self Storage facility May 20. The grand opening included a live radio broadcast to promote the climate-controlled Big Boy Storage Box available for boat storage and other uses.

Storage spaces are available in sizes up to 40 feet deep. The “toy box” units offer individual access around the perimeter of the building, while climate-controlled interior units are also available.

New Hampshire Self Storage has locations in six New Hampshire towns. The Guilford location is near the Laconia Municipal Airport.

Canadian StorageVault Acquires Sentinel, Others

StorageVault Canada Inc. has agreed to purchase all 24 Sentinel Storage locations across Canada along with three other storage facilities. The total value of the deal is $429.2 million.

StorageVault agreed in March to acquire Sentinel by purchasing the outstanding shares from TargetCo ULC for $396.6 million. The Sentinel portfolio spans Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. That deal is expected to close June 30.

StorageVault has also signed agreements to buy two unrelated storage properties in greater Montreal for $16.6 million.

StorageVault has also agreed to bring the management of its 50 locations in house and acquire the third-party management contracts for more than 55 self storage facilities from ARMS for $16 million.

Deis Named National Self Storage Director for Marcus & Millichap

Commercial property investment firm Marcus & Millichap has named Joel Deis to national director of the company’s National Self Storage Group. Deis also serves as regional manager of the firm’s Seattle office.

Prior to joining the management team as a sales manager in 2012, Deis was ranked among the top five self storage agents company-wide. Deis earned a degree in economics from the University of Washington and was a member of the university’s 2001 Rose Bowl championship football team.

“Joel’s personal background in self storage and track record of success as a proven leader within the firm make him well suited to the role,” said Alan Pontius, senior vice president and national director of the company’s specialty divisions. 

Strategic Storage Growth Trust Buys 2 in Asheville, NC

Strategic Storage Growth Trust, Inc. has purchased an 850-unit self storage portfolio in Asheville, NC, for $10.25 million.

The portfolio includes a 370-unit facility on Deaverview Road and a 480-unit facility on Highland Center Blvd. The two properties offer a combined 115,000 rentable square feet and 40 RV/boat spaces.

The SSGT portfolio consists of 18 operating self storage facilities in eight states.

“These facilities are located in a growing community with excellent demographics, including college students, retirees and apartment renters, all of which represent good demographic groups for self storage,” said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO.

Citadel Storage Builds Near Louisville

Citadel Storage Partners is building a three-story self storage building in St. Matthews, KY, near Louisville. The building will include 990 storage units in 145,000 square feet. The project is valued at more than $10 million.

An affiliate of Citadel Storage Partners, DuPont Self Storage, LLC, purchased the 2.5-acre site near Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital for $1.35 million. The site previously was used for a church, elementary school and daycare center.

Larken Opens Eastern Pennsylvania Storage Facility

Fairless Hills Self Storage has opened a 269-unit storage facility in Fairless Hills, Pa. The property will be operated by Storage Asset Management.

The facility comprises 34,000-square feet of rentable storage space in climate-controlled and drive-up units.

The facility is owned by New Jersey-based Larken Associates, a second-generation, family-owned business specializing in real estate development and construction.

Storage Asset Management is based in York, Pa., and manages more than 50 self storage properties along the East Coast.

Yardi Releases New Solution for Brokers

Yardi has released a new mobile-friendly solution designed to help real estate brokers and asset managers close more deals faster.

Yardi Deal Manager provides up-to-date availability information and dynamic stacking plans and syncs deal data with the Yardi Voyager property and financial management system.

“Yardi Deal Manager makes it easy to enter deal terms, track counterproposals, attach documents, store contacts and communicate about deals in one place,” said Terri Dowen, senior vice president of sales for Yardi. “Leasing teams no longer need to search across folders and email to find deal information. They can find it in one place simply and quickly from any device.”

CBRE Expense Report Released

Self storage expenses averaged $5.25 per rentable square foot in the US in the first quarter of 2017, according to CBRE’s Self Storage Operating Expense Report, released in May.

Among the report’s other findings: real estate taxes account for 28.27 percent of all operating expenses in the sector, based on national data, and off and on-site or management expenses, cumulative, account for 38.23 percent of all operating expenses on a national basis.

CBRE forecasts that expense ratios will decline over the next year due to higher ancillary income, such as tenant insurance, continued emphasis on revenue management, and more controls on operating costs as markets tighten.

Marcus & Millichap Sells Downtown Chicago Storage

Canal Street Self Storage, a 792-unit self storage facility in Chicago, has been sold with Marcus & Millichap managing the sale.

“Given the amount of capital looking to acquire self storage and with a limited amount of quality product for sale, it’s no surprise that we had multiple offers and closed this transaction at very near the asking price,” said Sean Delaney, first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Oak Brook office.

The price of the sale was not disclosed.

Canal Street Self Storage had been locally owned and operated since 2001. It’s a five-story facility overlooking the heart of downtown Chicago, situated in the historic South Loop neighborhood.