West Coast Self Storage Expands in Washington

West Coast Self-Storage Group has opened a new facility in Shoreline, Washington near Sheridan Beach. The facility has 696 units amounting to 64,780 rentable square feet.

The facility was designed by Site+Plan+Mix LLC and built by Sea Con LLC.

“We’re thrilled to be opening our newest facility in Shoreline,” said John Eisenbarth, vice president of operations. “It represents our continued goal of offering customers a higher level of self storage amenities and service.”

West Coast recently opened a new property in Auburn, WA, with 69,800 rentable square feet and 733 units.

West Coast Self-Storage Group is a self-storage property management, acquisition and development company headquartered in Mill Creek, WA. The company has 41 managed and owned locations in Washington, Oregon and California.

SkyView Advisors Sells Maryland Facility

SkyView Advisors has sold Extra Space Storage in Lexington Park, Maryland, to NSA Property Holdings, LLC. Ryan Clark, director of investment sales, represented the seller, Willows Road Business Park, LLC.

The facility is located on almost 10 acres with a total of 74,101 net rentable square feet. The building, which was completed in 2015, has 307 climate-controlled units and 484 non-climate-controlled units and six spaces for RV, boat and vehicle parking.

“This high quality deal attracted attention from many large national buyers,” Clark said. “Due to our detailed marketing process we were able to generate multiple bids, creating a high level of competition.”

Absolute Storage Management Announces Performance Results

Memphis-based Absolute Storage Management announced operating results for the second quarter of 2017. For the three months ending June 30, Absolute increased same-store revenue by 6.7% versus the same period in 2016. The company also acquired management of three storage facilities.

For the first six months of the year, Absolute Storage Management increased same-store revenue by 6.8% and reported same-store occupancy of 89.1%.

The same-store pool consists of 57 stabilized properties managed since January 2016. Absolute Storage Management manages 95 properties in 13 states.

Former Baltimore Industrial Building Site to be Redeveloped for Storage

A 100-year-old flex industrial building in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood will be redeveloped into an Extra Space Storage facility.

Poverni Sheikh Group has purchased the building and will build a 110,000-square-foot storage facility. The property is located next to a Target-anchored Shops at Canton Crossing, close to interstate 95. There are five planned and prospective multifamily properties within one mile.

Savills Studley arranged the $1.9 million sale.

Janus International Buys Door Company    

Janus International Group, LLC, a manufacturer of self storage roll-up doors and building components, has acquired ASTA Door Corp, a US supplier of rolling door products.

ASTA will continue to operate as a stand-alone company under its current president, James French. Its headquarters and primary manufacturing will be moved from Acworth, Georgia, to Cartersville, Georgia in 2018.

“We will look for synergies that may exist between both firms and do our best to take full advantage of them; however we do not foresee any changes in operations for either company moving forward,” said David Curtis, CEO of Janus. “Both companies will continue to serve our valuable customers with quality products and outstanding customer service.”

Headquartered in Temple, Georgia, Janus has six US locations as well as manufacturing facilities in Europe and Mexico. The company is owned by Saw Mill Capital Partners, LP, a New York-based private equity, private investment fund.

U-Haul to Convert Empty Kmart to Storage

U-Haul will open a new self storage facility in northeast Muncie, Indiana, after converting a former Kmart store.

U-Haul acquired the vacant 86,250-square-foot warehouse in August. The building had been empty for three years, and people were using the nearly 10-acre site as a dump with old tires and furniture surrounding the site.

Adaptive reuse of the building will create approximately 40,000 square feet of self storage units.

Acquisition of the Muncie facility was driven by U-Haul Company’s corporate sustainability initiative to support infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. Reusing the building reduces the amount of energy and resources needed for new construction materials and reduces inventory of unused buildings.

Citizen Storage Launches With Two Properties

Citizen Storage Management and Affiliates has launched with the acquisition of two storage properties in Fenton, Michigan. The facilities comprise 86,000 square feet with 100 vehicle parking spaces.

The two properties will be branded as Citizen Storage Fenton North and Citizen Storage Fenton South.

“These properties fit perfectly into our value-add acquisition model and long-term growth initiatives,” said Peter Spickenagel, president and CEO of Citizen Storage Management.

Spickenagel previously directed self storage conversion and construction projects for Farmer Development, Inc. he served as vice president of operations for Storage Pros Management, LLC, where he oversaw 80 storage properties.

Citizen Storage Management is based in Royal Oak, Michigan, and intends to pursue additional acquisitions as well as offer consulting and third-party management services.

Compass Self Storage Buys in North Carolina

Compass Self Storage has purchased a self storage center in Whitsett, NC, its 10^th acquisition this year.

The newest facility offers 70,000 net rentable square feet. Compass plans to expand the center to add a two-story building with 49,000 additional climate-controlled square feet. That project is scheduled to open in January of 2018. Compass will also upgrade security and surveillance and add individual digital customer access control.

“We are proud to expand our service area in North Carolina to include the residents and businesses of the Whitsett community,” said Todd Amsdell, president of Compass Self Storage.

Compass Self Storage is a member of the Amsdell family of companies.

STR Offers Assessment of Charlotte Storage Market

Eased city regulation, rapid population growth and increased residential costs have propelled self storage development in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Currently STR counts 335 open and operational storage facilities in the MSA with 45 self storage projects in various phases of development. The average size of a facility under development is approximately 73,000 square feet. About 17 of the projects are expected to be completed in the coming year. If all projects are completed 3.3 million net rentable square feet would be added to the market.  

In 2015 the Charlotte City Council approved a rule change that allowed for new self storage to be built in more urban, residential areas in addition to traditional industrial and warehouse districts.

The Charlotte MSA is the 22^nd largest in the US with 2.4 million people. The area has seen a 12% spike in population since 2010, making Charlotte one of the fastest growing MSAs in the nation.