Jenkins Opens One, Develops Another in Austin

The Jenkins Organization has opened Manchaca Storage in the South Austin, Texas, area. Manchaca Storage is a 93,225 square foot property with 795 climate and non-climate controlled units.

The Jenkins Organization has also purchased land in North Austin where it will build a 127,000 gross square foot self storage facility called Northgate Storage.

The new store will include 816 units, in both climate-controlled and non-climate controlled units and is estimated to open in May of 2019. This development is a part of The Jenkins Organizations’ continual growth in 2018, consisting of 7 new development projects, 3 new acquisition properties, and expansions of 5 existing facilities.

The Jenkins Organization is a Houston based self storage owner, developer and management company operating 52 properties throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota and Louisiana.

Life Storage’s Rogers to Retire

Life Storage REIT co-founder David Rogers will retire as CEO March 1, 2019. Chief Investment Officer Joseph Saffire will become CEO. Before joining Life Storage, Saffire held various leadership roles with HSBC, Wells Fargo, and First Niagara Financial Group.

Rogers will continue to serve on the board after his retirement.

“Joe has proven to be an incredible asset to our company, working extremely well with the entire management team and all of our stakeholders. His efforts to advance our real estate investment and third-party management strategies and operations have better positioned Life Storage for further growth,” Rogers said.

Life Storage, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT located in Buffalo, New York that operates more than 700 storage facilities in 28 states.

Hemet, CA Storage Sells

Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of Hemet Self-Storage, a 77,758-square-foot self storage facility located in Hemet, California. Hemet Self-Storage is comprised of 711 non-climate-controlled units with an on-site residence and a self-service kiosk.

Luke Elliott, Devin Beasley and Michael A. Mele, investment specialists at Marcus & Millichap, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer, a private investor, was also secured and represented by Elliott, Beasley and Mele. James Markel, broker, assisted in closing this transaction, the 28th self storage transaction this year by the Marcus & Millichap Tampa office.

Merit Hill Buys 2 in Houston

Real estate firm Merit Hill Capital LP has acquired two Houston-area StorIt! self storage facilities from The Jenkins Organization, a self storage developer, owner and management company. Combined, the properties offer 1,088 storage units. StorIt! Woodcreek at 1429 Farm to Market 1463 in Katy, Texas, comprises 68,965 square feet of storage space in 563 units. StorIt! Seven Meadows at 23110 Farm to Market 1093 in Richmond, Texas, contains 75,741 square feet of storage space in 525 units.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Merit Hill acquires, develops and manages self storage facilities nationwide. Last year, it launched a $300 million fund with private capital to pursue single-property and small-portfolio acquisitions in markets with at least 25,000 residents and demonstrating population growth.

Talonvest Offers Capital Markets Update

Talonvest Capital, Inc., has shared the following notable updates in capital markets.

Some banks are aggressively pricing 10-year fixed rate, non-recourse, balance sheet loans.

Loan spreads are as much as 40-50 basis points lower on 60% LTV loan requests as compared to 65% LTV requests. Ten-year interest only loans are still readily available at up to 65% LTV and sizing down to a minimum debt yield of 8.50%.

Talonvest recently closed a 10-year, 4.69% fixed rate, non-recourse loan at sub-60% LTV with flexible prepayment. The loan was locked out from prepayment for the first year, then 1% for the remainder of the term before being open for the last 6 months. The property was stabilized at 89% occupancy.

Pennsylvania Storage Moving Toward Approval

The Palmer, Pennsylvania, Township Board of Supervisors has offered its conditional approval for a new self storage facility in the town of Easton, north of Philadelphia.

The facility will consist of seven storage buildings to be located on three acres of land in Northwood Industrial Park behind the Route 248 Diner.

Paul Sandhu, owner, president, and operator of GPAC Holdings, Inc., plans to develop the self storage facility. The buildings will be approximately 28,000 square feet, constructed of metal prefabricated walls.

Developer Targets Business with Storage

Commercial Self Storage, an Indianapolis builder that specializes in storage for business, is adding to its self storage facility in Gahanna in Central Ohio.

Commercial Self Storage invested $5.5 million in its first presence in Central Ohio, with a facility at 1509 Blatt Blvd. The first building opened in June and four other small buildings have followed, according to Columbus Business First. Now the company is investing another $4 million in development. Two more buildings are under construction and will add 14,000 square feet of space. A second phase of building in the spring will add 70,000 square feet of space. When finished, the development will total 14 buildings and 105,000 square feet.

Tucson, AZ, Storage Sells

Baron Properties of Denver, Colorado, has purchased Continental Ranch Self Storage in Tucson, Arizona, for $7.15 million from LPG Associates of Rohnert Park, California. The facility is located at 5650 W. Coca Cola Place.

NAI Horizon Senior Vice President Denise Nunez represented the seller, and secured the buyer in the transaction. Baron Properties has engaged Extra Space Storage as a third party management company to operate the facility.

Continental Ranch Self Storage totals 99,810 net rentable square feet and 736 units. It is located off of I-10 and Cortaro Farms Road, adjacent to the Arizona Pavilions shopping center.

Janus Announces Educational Workshop in CA

Janus International, the leading global manufacturer and supplier of turn-key building solutions and new technology for the self storage industry, has announced its second Janus Road Tour educational workshop of 2018.

Session topics are to include new technology, renovations, conversions, building & financing, automation & access control, marketing, insurance & property protection, staffing & culture, improving operations, live demos, and more.

This two-day complimentary workshop will be hosted at the Hyatt Centric in Santa Barbara, California on November 5th and 6th. The technology and education workshop will feature sessions from Janus representatives Troy Bix, president of the R3 Division, Terry Bagley, president of the Door Entry and Facility Automation Division, Roc Hughes, vice president of the R3 Division, and Jim Ponti, regional sales manager.

In addition to Janus representatives, there will be several operators and industry veterans speaking, including John Mannes of Pinnacle Storage, Christina Alvino of FineView Marketing, Travis Morrow of Strat Property Management, Inc., and AJ Osborne of Keylock Storage.