Hines launches SW storage portfolio

International real estate firm Hines is diversifying its portfolio by launching a self storage expansion in the Southwestern U.S.

The firm will break ground on Val Vista Self Storage, a 75,000-square-foot, Class A storage development in Gilbert, Arizona. W.E. O’Neil serves as general contractor and RKAA designed the building. Hines’ project is slated for completion by early 2019.

The storage facility will be part of a mixed-use development located on 20 acres at the northwest corner of Val Vista Drive and Queen Creek Road, near Freeway 202 and approximately 20 miles from downtown Phoenix. Val Vista Self Storage will comprise roughly 510 climate-controlled units.

Hines aims to develop three to five facilities within a year in densely populated suburban areas with high incomes. Planned facilities include an 83,000-square-foot facility in Tempe and a 96,000-square-foot storage in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Construction of the projects will begin in the fall of 2018. Hines plans to develop other facilities in Surprise, Scottsdale and Glendale.

Marcus & Millichap brokers 2 deals

Marcus & Millichap has brokered the following self storage deals:

• Ammex Mini Storage, a 48,810 square foot storage facility located in Houston, Texas sold to an out-of-state investment firm. Dave Knobler, first vice president, investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office and Charles "Chico" LeClaire, executive managing director, investments in the Denver office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller who had owned and operated the facility for 41 years. The property consists of 353 climate and non-climate controlled units.

• Oak Cliff Bargain Storage, a 38,800-square-foot self storage facility located in Dallas, Texas, sold to a private investor with storage facilities located throughout the United States. Brandon Karr and Danny Cunningham, both founding members of the Karr Self Storage team in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a national storage operator headquartered in the Pacific Northwest who purchased the facility from Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Karr in 2015. Oak Cliff Bargain Storage is located at 3316 Hansboro Avenue. The facility was built in 1973 and underwent major renovations and improvements in 2015. 

SkyView sells American in FL

SkyView Advisors has brokered the sale of American Self Storage in Gainesville, Florida, to a private buyer. Ryan Clark, director of investment sales represented the seller.

American Self Storage is situated on 5.49 acres of land and has a total of 77,220 net rentable square feet and 462 non-climate-controlled units.

The BSC Group arranges LA loan

The BSC Group has arranged a $23.5 million CMBS loan used to refinance two self storage properties located in New Orleans, Louisiana for a local sponsor. The non-recourse permanent loan has a low 10 year fixed rate that is interest-only for the entire term. The sponsor refinanced an existing CMBS loan to capture trapped equity.

Talonvest delivers market update

Talonvest provided the following updates to capital markets.

• Talonvest is seeing a trend in which the stabilized NOI per the appraiser is more indicative of final loan proceeds than the actual LTV requirement. The current environment has renewed the importance of analyzing the potential impact of debt yields and debt service coverage ratios on actual loan dollars.

• As the number of debt funds in the market increases, resulting in more competition, Talonvest is seeing continued compression in spreads to win business. For example, some debt funds are now pricing loans in the 350 to 400 over LIBOR range depending on size, location, borrower and leverage.

• Delaware Statutory Trusts (DST) have been considered by several Talonvest clients to facilitate 1031 exchanges. But some bank and CMBS lenders have recently told Talonvest they are uncomfortable lending into that type of ownership structure. Complexities such as the ability to call additional capital and structuring leases to alleviate that issue are some concerns that were detailed. The alternative, although still not preferred by some lenders, is a Tenancy in Common (TIC) ownership structure to facilitate an exchange. The more traditional ownership structures, such as a LP or LLC, will increase the number of potential lenders and lead to obtaining the most competitive pricing available in the market.

• Life companies and banks are aggressively pursuing lower leverage loans by providing attractive non-recourse fixed rate terms, even for smaller loans in secondary markets.

Access opens in NJ

Access Self Storage has opened at 639 South Avenue in Plainfield, New Jersey. Access Self Storage is an 850-unit facility in a building built in 1908 to house the Rushmore Dynamo Works for entrepreneur and inventor Samuel Rushmore.

The site was formerly owned by the city of Plainfield but recently purchased by the Lackland family.

BanCap sells Palm Springs facility

Bancap Self Storage Group has facilitated the sale of Big 10 Storage in Palm Springs, California. The facility is a smaller, non-institutional property.

Dean Keller of BanCap Self Storage Group brokered the sale.

Progress secures loans for 2 NYC properties

Progress Capital has arranged $36 million in mortgage loans for two New York self storage locations branded under the name Storage Fox in Queens and Yonkers. The two separate $18 million loans will go toward refinancing existing debt and recapturing equity in the two properties. Kathy Anderson of Progress Capital worked with Signature Bank to secure the loans. Constructed in 2013, 30-46 Northern Boulevard in the Long Island City section of Queens is a 12-story 123,000-square-foot building with 70,000 square feet of self storage space. The second property, located in Yonkers at 280 Fullerton Avenue, is a five-story, 190,000-square-foot self storage facility constructed in 2012.

Perry joins Jernigan Capital as CIO

Jonathan Perry will join Jernigan Capital, Inc., a capital partner for self storage entrepreneurs nationwide, as executive vice president and chief investment officer.

“The addition of Jonathan rounds out what we believe to be an outstanding management team,” said Dean Jernigan, chairman and chief executive officer of Nashville-based Jernigan Capital.

Perry will be responsible for overseeing all investment and asset management activities. Perry has led billions of dollars of self storage investments over the course of his 20-year career. He spent 10 years with CubeSmart, most recently as senior vice president and chief investment officer. He began his career at Storage USA.

Tucson storage facility opens

Silverbell Self Storage at Sunset Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, has opened. Located at 2720 N. Silverbell Road, the facility is a 60,000-square-foot development with 403 rental units, including some that are climate-controlled.

Owner and developer Herb Havins bought the 6.3 acre site for $1.5 million in 2005. It was then a 28-space mobile home park. He operated the park while going through the rezoning process for his commercial project to coincide with the completion of the road improvements on Silverbell Road.

The new facility features drive-up units, individual alarms and solar power.

Pinnacle begins Jupiter project

A company tied to self storage developer Pinnacle Storage has purchased land in Jupiter, Florida, and secured an $8.85 million loan to build a planned 97,500-square-foot facility.

The project includes demolishing the vacant Ellison Graphics building at 1400 West Indiantown Road on a 1.6-acre site. It will be a three-story building with 700 climate-controlled units.

Pinnacle President Chris Perry has said demolition will begin in June with completion in the summer of 2019, managed by Life Storage.

U-Haul remakes outdated GA factory

U-Haul will open its newest facility in Morrow, Georgia, on May 23. The two-story U-Haul Moving & Storage at South Lake is located at 1549 Mount Zion Road.

As with many other U-Haul projects, the Morrow facility is a reuse of a neglected building. U-Haul spent more than two years cleaning up and renovating the former Cambro Manufacturing Company warehouse to yield a new 75,471-square-foot facility with 1,200-plus indoor, climate-controlled self storage units.