Devon Self Storage Partners with VaultDrop

Devon Self Storage is partnering with VaultDrop, LLC, to offer free unlimited cloud storage to all customers at more than a dozen self storage properties. By combining traditional self storage with free unlimited cloud storage, Devon Self Storage is accommodating all of its customers’ needs, providing safe, secure digital and physical storage.

“This is a ground-breaking idea,” said Jim Mooney, Jr. vice president of operations at Devon Self Storage.

VaultDrop customers use their unlimited cloud storage to store their photos, music, documents, video and much more. Customers may also receive their storage invoices and other information from the property directly to their VaultDrop account.

Marcus & Millichap Sells 1 Florida, 2 Texas Facilities

Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a Florida self storage facility and two more in Texas.

In Florida, Michael A. Mele and Luke Elliott, investment specialists in the firm’s Tampa office, arranged the sale of Cape Coral Self Storage in Cape Coral. The facility is 65,950-rentable square feet. The seller was a local private investor, and the buyer was an out-of-state investor. The facility includes 678 units in five buildings. It was built in 2000 and expanded in 2003.

In Texas, Mark V. Diebold, senior associate, in the San Antonio office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer, a limited liability company, was secured and represented by Jon Danklefs, senior associate.

Affordable Mini Storage is a 31,900-square foot self storage facility located in Harker Heights, Texas.

Also in Killeen, Texas, Danklefs sold Rancier Mini Storage, a 46,685-square-foot facility.

Historic Milwaukee Building Becoming Storage

A well-known historic building in Milwaukee will be converted to self storage.

The eight-story, 102,600-square-foot warehouse was sold for $1.8 million by an affiliate of C.H. Coakley & Co., a moving and storage company, to Platform II-Wisconsin. 

The buyer is led by Scott Krone of Coda Design Build based in Northbrook, Illinois. Krone plans to convert the building to 1,000 self storage units. He is seeking state and federal historic preservation tax credits to help finance the project. The warehouse was built in the 1920s.

The firm has developed four self storage facilities previously in the Chicago area.

U-Haul Says Aloha to Maui

U-Haul International Inc. is converting a former Kmart store in Kahului to the company’s first self storage facility on Maui.

U-Haul acquired the 107,520-square-foot building on the corner of Hana Highway and Dairy Road in October and is using the property as a temporary showroom, offering truck and trailer rentals and moving supplies. The Kmart store closed in June.

Westchester Expands New York Holdings

Westchester Self Storage, which operates 17 facilities under various brand names in New York, has opened Tarrytown Self Storage in Tarrytown, N.Y. The three-story facility features a pair of “Big Ben-like” clocks that chime at noon.

The site has more than 40 space configurations, with some outfitted as cedar closets with clothes-hanging racks. Additional property features include climate-controlled units and a retail store that sells moving and packing supplies.

Family-owned Westchester Self Storage opened its first storage facility in Bedford Hills, NY, 28 years ago. Founder Peter Ferraro Sr., is CEO of the New York State Self Storage Association. The company will break ground on a second Tarrytown facility next spring.

U-Haul Offers Space to Fire Victims

As Southern California residents lose their homes to ferocious wildfires that began burning unchecked overnight Tuesday, weeks before Christmas, U-Haul is offering free 30-day storage to those affected.

By mid-December, U-Haul centers in the San Fernando Valley and Van Nuys/San Luis Obispo area made seven self storage facilities available in six cities.

NYC Inches Closer to Restricting Storage Facilities

A New York City Council committee has provided a key approval for legislation to restrict the development of self storage facilities in industrial business zones (IBZ's), despite biting criticism of the bill by one of its members.

The measure, which is likely to be approved by the full council on Dec. 19, would require a special permit to build self storage projects in most of the 21 IBZs, which account for around half of the city's manufacturing space. Obtaining this permission would require going through a nearly yearlong public review process that culminates in a council vote.

The new requirement would not apply in two zones in the Bronx and another pair in Staten Island, along with part of a zone in Jamaica, Queens. But self storage companies would still need to set aside space for industrial square-footage in any project they build, according to the bill. Existing facilities would be grandfathered.

Simply Self Storage Moves to OpenTech Call Center Platform

Simply Self Storage has transitioned all of its 230 facilities to the OpenTech INSOMNIAC Live! Call Center.

Teams from Simply Self Storage and OpenTech Alliance worked closely in November to complete the transition.

“We are excited to partner with OpenTech in taking on and expanding our strategic call center capabilities,” said Joe Robinson, senior vice president of marketing for Simply Self Storage.

Simply Self Storage is the largest privately owned self storage company in the United States and Puerto Rico. Founded in 2003 by Kurt O’Brien, Simply Self Storage is headquartered in Orlando, Florida with facilities in 24 states and Puerto Rico.