Father-and-son developers Ron and Shawn Valk are revving up their self-storage business in the Dallas, TX, metro area.
The Valks are developing seven self-storage facilities in the Dallas market under the name Platinum Storage. Shawn Valk said the company has several more sites in its pipeline.
I get calls several times a week [from companies wanting] to buy the sites we own and have broken ground on.
— Self-storage developer Shawn Valk
The Valks started Platinum in 2010. The company sold the first four facilities it developed. Most recently, Platinum sold a 55,000-square-foot project in McKinney, TX, to CubeSmart in December.
“The difference now is that the money has started to loosen up a little, which has allowed us to grow further, faster and stronger,” Valk said.
The projects
Here are the seven Platinum projects now in the works:
- A 70,000-square-foot facility at 3471 Broadway Blvd. in Garland, TX. Construction is underway, with completion set for July.
- A 92,000-square-foot facility at Country Club Road and West Brown Street in Wylie, TX. The developers expect to start construction in August and open the facility next March.
- A 91,350-square-foot facility at 1245 State Highway 276 in Rockwall. That facility is expected to open in December.
- Three projects set to start in July. One is an 89,500-square-foot facility at 7301 Lakeview Parkway in Rowlett, TX, with an expected opening next February. Platinum will start work on converting a building at 717 S. Good Latimer Expressway in Dallas into a 91,750-square-foot facility. That project is set for completion in November. The third project is a 69,000-square-foot facility at 1350 N. Beltline Road in Mesquite, TX, with an opening planned for next February.
- A 107,000-square-foot facility at 5505 Maple Ave. in Dallas. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and be finished next May.
A Platinum Storage facility is under construction in Garland, TX.
Family business
If the Valk name sounds familiar, it’s no coincidence. Ron Valk’s twin brother is Don Valk, who recently sold a large portfolio of properties under the name Assured Self Storage to Extra Space Storage.
Shawn Valk said that as a real estate agent, he helped buy development sites for Assured before starting Platinum with his father.
“I wanted to be in an ownership position,” Shawn Valk said. “I didn’t just want to earn commissions anymore.”
Valk said Platinum plans to manage the new facilities on its own, but in today’s market, that approach could change unexpectedly.
“This is a crazy market and times that we are in,” Valk said. “I get calls several times a week [from companies wanting] to buy the sites we own and have broken ground on.”
