The future of self-storage just got a little greener. Raleigh-based SLI Capital and Charlotte-based Madison Capital have joined forces to acquire a controlling interest in GreenSpace Self-Storage. The company, renowned for its pioneering approach to constructing...
Golden, CO-based Spartan Investment Group has been on a roll lately, and with its latest hire the firm is positioned to keep the streak going. Last week the company sold a two property portfolio consisting of two FreeUp Storage facilities in Denver and Aspen Park,...
A global investment firm based in Canada is investing $400 million into the U.S. self-storage sector. Montréal-based Ivanhoé Cambridge has partnered with Safely Store Self Storage to buy and develop a portfolio of facilities throughout the U.S. Safely Store is a...
SROA Capital is hoping to fill some of the lending void as cautious banks pull back from self-storage and other loan deals across the country. In early June, SROA Capital, the private-equity owner and operator of nearly 400 self-storage facilities in the U.S.,...
Spartan Investment Group has rolled out an investing concept that has something for most everybody – three new funds at the same time in the categories of income, growth and debt. “We want the investors to know exactly what they’re getting into,” said Ryan Gibson,...
Meet Jeffrey Climan and Simon Berman, co-founders of Montreal-based Montreal Mini Storage; Climan is also COO and Berman is also president. And their latest move is a big one. After watching about 25,000 people relocate from Montreal to the winter-sports-centric...
What's one lingering effect of the pandemic that isn't going anyway anytime soon? The rise of unmanned self-storage facilities. Storage Asset Management (SAM), a York, PA-based third-party management firm, recently reported a 110% increase from 2020 to 2021 in the...
Private real estate firms seem to have little trouble raising investor funds for self-storage ventures. Two separate firms have recently closed funds exceeding $50 million in new capital for self-storage development and acquisition activity. Albuquerque-based DXD...
Irvine, CA-based Talonvest Capital, Inc., helped secure its clients $111,500,000 in permanent financings during the final weeks of 2021. The boutique self storage and commercial real estate mortgage brokerage firm negotiated with various national banks to obtain the...
10 Federal’s third self-storage fund is up and running, raising $7.4 million in 18 days and quickly acquiring three facilities in Georgia and South Carolina as part of its long-term push to become one of the top storage operators in the nation. Brad Minsley,...
The Move It self-storage brand is tapping into a $25 million pool of cash from its first-ever equity fund to add 10 to 15 facilities to its portfolio. Tim Springer, president of Dallas-based Move It, said the company will leverage the $25 million in investment capital...
In more ways than one, 2020 was one for the record books. And it was a record-setting year for self-storage acquisitions, too. Investors sought shelter from battered asset classes like office and commercial, and dislocated consumers helped drive demand higher. These...
DXD Capital got a nice present during the holiday season: Its new DXD Self Storage Fund I, which it launched in September with a goal of raising $50 million, garnered $12.5 million before Thanksgiving. “We really started the capital raise Sept. 1,” said Drew Dolan,...
Summer may be over, but the self-storage refinancing market remains hot. On Oct. 1, JLL Capital Markets said it secured a $87 million refinancing of a portfolio of 36 self-storage facilities on behalf of West Palm Beach, FL-based self-storage investment firm SROA...
Although Wall Street may be jittery about a looming recession, the five publicly traded self-storage REITs are enjoying a bullish run in the stock market. As of Aug. 30, the stock prices of all five REITs were sitting near their 52-week highs. Helping push up the...
A newly created self-storage investment fund recently made its first two acquisitions and is hunting for more facilities to buy. VanWest Storage Fund I LLC, affiliated with Denver, CO-based real estate investment firm VanWest Partners, aims to purchase 10 to 12...
Sylios Corp. has sought riches in oil and natural gas exploration and in the burgeoning cannabis industry. Now it sees riches in self-storage. A St. Petersburgh-based holding company run by a former hedge-fund operator, Sylios has announced that it’s currently...
Is the self-storage industry ready for blockchain technology? Texas-based Pinnacle Storage Properties is betting that it is. The owner-operator is both a founding partner and one of the first sponsors to commit to listing its assets on the Earn.re fundraising...
A major credit-rating agency has raised concerns about the self-storage industry’s mounting exposure to CMBS loans, but an executive who arranges financing for self-storage deals says there’s no need to ring the alarm. In a recent report, analysts with S&P Global...
Talonvest Capital Inc. recently completed the negotiation of a $48.4 million refinance bridge loan. Nothing unusual there; Talonvest is currently negotiating transactions worth between $7 million and $125 million. But a note of caution from Thomas Sherlock, one of...
New York City, NY-based alternative investment firm Angelo Gordon & Co. LLP recently raised more than $2.75 billion for a new real estate fund. And it’s almost a certainty that some of that money will flow into the self-storage sector. Primarily through off-market...
Fairway America, founded in 1992 by Matt Burk, CEO and chief investment officer, invests in small balance real estate (SBRE) deals and manages its own discretionary SBRE funds. During its history, it’s helped to structure and create over 150 funds and syndications for...
Elevation Capital Group’s MHPI VII LLC, better known as Fund 7, attracted more than 500 members and raised $100 million in subscriptions since launching in April 2017. That’s a fast raise, and fund managers have announced they have raised the maximum offering amount...
Las Vegas-based Crystal View Capital is making a bigger move into the self-storage industry with its latest private equity fund, Crystal View Capital Fund II. The $35 million fund is focused exclusively on buying self-storage and manufactured home properties across...
While institutions are dominating investment in larger metros, private investors are quietly fueling sales activity in smaller tertiary markets where pricing is more attractive and yields are higher. Smaller metros have always provided a strong foundation of...
As rents continue to soar in the Las Vegas, NV, market, self-storage investors might be wondering whether it’s worth taking a gamble on Sin City. The February 2019 self-storage report from data provider Yardi Matrix shows Vegas continues to lead the country for rent...
The record high levels of new supply delivered to the self-storage market last year don’t appear to be diminishing buyer appetite. According to Real Capital Analytics, transaction volume jumped to $6.16 billion last year. Even excluding a $1.3 billion entity level...
Slowly but surely, self-storage investors are taking advantage of perhaps the most buzzed-about real estate tax-saving tool of 2019 — Opportunity Zones. San Antonio, TX-based business management company DPR Investments Ltd. recently became the first investor to hop on...
Over the last few years a new segment of the storage industry emerged: on-demand storage. The concept is fairly simple. Customers pack up their belongings and a company comes and picks them up and puts them in storage. When a customer wants something back, they use an...
Nuveen Real Estate, a unit of New York City, NY-based financial services giant TIAA, has purchased a majority stake in a portfolio of 21 Morningstar Storage facilities. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Under their new joint venture, Nuveen Real Estate owns 90...
Investors getting whipsawed by the stock market could push to diversify more heavily into real estate in 2019, and if they do, self-storage could be the ticket for higher returns than institutional-grade property types. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finished...
On the heels of its $5.9 billion merger with one of its managed funds, W.P. Carey Inc. is mulling the sale of more than three dozen self-storage facilities that are now part of its operating portfolio. When W.P. Carey absorbed Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global...
Even after a long bull run in the self-storage investment sales market, the sector is continuing to attract new capital to the space that is helping provide a steady pipeline of activity. “Deal flow this year has been very strong with no real slow down thus far,” says...
Two related self-storage REITs, Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc. and Strategic Storage Trust II Inc., are merging in a stock-and-debt deal valued at $340 million that would bring ownership of more than 100 self-storage facilities under one umbrella. The...
The self-storage building boom appears to have reached an impressive financial milestone. Talonvest Capital Inc., the California self-storage financial adviser and mortgage broker, reports that lenders are now offering extremely attractive bridge loan deals to...
Investors are still investing steadily in self-storage, although the rates of growth have slowed compared to recent years, according to CBRE’s latest Self-Storage Investor Survey. In conducting the survey, CBRE interviewed more than 50 market participants including...
National Storage Affiliates, a Greenwood Village, CO-based real estate investment trust, has struck a deal to acquire 112 self-storage locations from Orlando, FL-based Simply Self Storage for $1.325 billion dollars. Simply is majority owned by Toronto-based Brookfield...
Bolstered by self-storage veteran Hugh Horne, a new joint venture aims to create a national portfolio of storage facilities over the next several years. HPI Horne Storage, a collaboration between Austin, TX-based Horne Partners LLC and Austin-based HPI Real Estate...
Houston, TX-based commercial real estate giant Hines Interests LP, known primarily for its office and mixed-use projects, is jumping into the self-storage business. Hines already has three self-storage projects underway in the Phoenix, AZ, metro area — one each in...
Shopping malls and other retail centers might be on shaky ground these days, but the ground at some of those developments is becoming valuable territory for self-storage. Chattanooga, TN-based mall owner CBL Properties Inc. (NYSE: CBL) is tapping into the potential of...
Dozens of Sears and Toys R Us stores recently have hit the real estate market amid the continuing upheaval in bricks-and-mortar retail, and some of those locations might gain new life as self-storage facilities. Sixteen Sears stores are being auctioned online May 1,...
Self-storage buyers hungry for yield have been chasing freshly developed “certificate of occupancy” deals where they can earn a higher return in exchange for taking on the lease-up risk—and none of the construction risk—of a newly built property. Buyers of C/O deals,...
From 2009 to 2016, Austin, TX-based Virtus Real Estate Capital LLC went on a self-storage buying spree. During that period, the firm spent $191 million to scoop up 61 self-storage facilities in the U.S., with seven of those properties being bought in partnership with...
One of the country's largest self-storage facilities could soon be sold at auction, as part of the bankruptcy of its ownership group. Secured Climate Storage, located at 9311 N FM-620 in Austin, TX, features more than 200,000 square feet of storage space in nearly...
The sizable gap between seller asking prices and the amount buyers are willing to pay is contributing to a drop in commercial real estate sales activity. Self-storage transactions have dropped 36% in the past year from $6.3 billion in 2016 to $4.1 billion in 2017,...
For self-storage REITs, 2018 could offer a sense of déjà vu. At this point, we don’t have a complete picture of the REITs’ financial performance in 2017, as full-year results won’t be reported until late February. But we do know that 2017 market returns for the REITs...
First Neck Self Storage has raised $50 million—and plans to perhaps double that in its next round—to buy operating storage facilities in primary and especially secondary markets. It’s a joint venture involving CSM Capital Corp., a New York City-based multifamily...
Equipped with an infusion of more than $80 million in private equity, an Albuquerque, NM-based real estate developer is plotting its entry into the self-storage sector. Titan Development Ltd. is gearing up to build six self-storage facilities in two New Mexico markets...
Atlanta-based Boardwalk Development Group launched its new Boardwalk II investment strategy in mid-August that will target stable, cash-flowing self-storage assets in secondary and tertiary markets throughout the southeastern U.S. SpareFoot recently talked with CEO...
Money to build new storage facilities is still available, but may be harder to come by for some. Construction financing that commercial real estate advisory firm Talonvest Capital Inc. recently arranged for two big players in self-storage is a sign of the changing...
Venture capital continues to show its faith in the emerging on-demand storage market, with a group of investors recently making the largest investment in the space to date. On-demand storage provided Clutter announced today that it closed on a $64 million Series C...
Backed by $300 million in equity, a new self-storage investment firm whose entire team came from industry heavyweight W.P. Carey is poised to wrap up its first acquisition. Merit Hill Capital, with offices in Brooklyn, NY, and Dallas, TX, is set to close June 1 on the...
The pipeline of for-sale portfolios is starting to look a little picked over at this later stage of the real estate cycle. “Obviously, we have seen some of the bigger portfolios trade,” said Ryan Clark, a senior vice president at Skyview Advisors, a national...
Capital has been greasing the wheels of the recent self-storage building boom. And despite some signs of tightening, there appears to be ample financing available to keep that momentum going in the near term. “There is still plenty of capital for the right deal that...
Can SmartStop Asset Management recreate the self-storage investment magic? Many industry insiders think it can – and will – over coming months and years with its new Strategic Storage Trust IV fund. The Ladera Ranch, CA firm struck it big when it engineered the recent...
Self-storage operators could do a better job of listening to their customers, said Marcus Mollman, founder and CEO of Closetbox, which is fresh off of raising $5.5 million in a round of funding that ended March 22. “I’m not sure anyone in the traditional storage...
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil have come and gone, but there’s still many searching for gold in the vast South American country. Specifically, a number of American investors are investing in the nascent self-storage market in Brazil, with a population of more than...
Private equity investors continue to seek entry to the storage industry by partnering with existing operators. Such joint venture deals have been around for more than 20 years, but have risen in popularity over the last three to five years amid a fiercely competitive...
Self-storage valuations are on the rise as the sector gains favor with investors amid several years of strong, solid growth. “People are looking for places to put their money and out of all asset classes self storage has been the most profitable,” says Jeff Shouse,...
Omni is the latest full-service storage company to snag a large chunk of funding—$7 million in its recent round led by Highland Capital. That brings the startup’s total funding to date to $10 million. But the San Francisco, CA-based startup adds a new twist on the...
On-demand storage operator Clutter just scored a huge round of funding from its venture capital partner. The Los Angeles-based company announced that Sequoia Capital has invested $20 million. Clutter offers pick up, deliver and storage for personal belongings....
The self-storage sector is hot—and Rajen Sheth has created another investment fund devoted to it. Sheth is CEO of Boardwalk Development Group (BDG), LLC, in Johns Creek, GA, a private equity real estate investment company. Boardwalk recently announced the launch of...
A round of recent refinance loans show continued favorable conditions for the self-storage sector heading into 2016. Chicago-based BSC group recently structured and negotiated a $31 million refinancing loan secured by Keepers Self Storage in New York City. Principal...
LifeStorage went back to the well and came back with $300 million. Citigroup Global Markets and BMO Capital Markets teamed up to extend the new financing to Roseville, CA-based LifeStorage, which will use the money to buy self-storage facilities in the 50 largest U.S....
A Chicago, IL-based real estate investment firm plans to break into the self-storage market by purchasing about 1 million square feet of space over the next two years. South Street Capital also plans to acquire another 1 million square feet of combined office, retail...
With a fresh investment of $25 million, moving and storage company Zippy Shell is embarking on rapid expansion in the U.S. bolstered by a national marketing campaign. The Washington, DC-based company positions itself as a lower-priced alternative to portable storage...
A Los Angeles, CA-based real estate company that converts shopping centers into self-storage facilities has opened up a $25 million fund to investors. DealPoint Merrill introduced its Growth and Income Fund in January. Money in the fund will pay for the firm’s...
After entrepreneur Ben Frein sold his online retail company in 2010, a year after graduating from the University of Northern Iowa, he set his sights on real estate investment. But he had trouble deciding on the asset type. Frein (pictured in top photo) checked out...
The trend of consolidation in the self-storage industry continues unabated, as the public REITs and large private operators keep buying independently owned facilities and new development remains scarce. Executives in the self-storage industry discussed the current...
The theory that a rising tide lifts all boats is certainly at play in the self-storage market. The hot investment market for Class A and Class B properties is trickling down to the Class C sector. Class C facilities can be a tough sell. These properties usually carry...
For investors, the self-storage sector is sizzling. It’s so hot, in fact, that the four publicly traded self-storage REITs topped Bloomberg Markets magazine’s second annual ranking of top alternative investments. The magazine points out that the three-year annualized...
A startup founded by veterans of the self-storage industry has started to build its portfolio with the acquisition of two facilities, and it plans to spend up to $500 million to buy dozens of facilities over the next several years. Pete Williams and Doug McCarron...
Middle-market investment bank Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. of Cleveland has launched a division offering real estate advisory services for a variety of industry niches, including self-storage. Jay Crotty (pictured above), a senior vice president, and Thomas Doyle, an...
Brian Somoza is drawing on his previous job at Public Storage in his new role at commercial real estate powerhouse JLL. Somoza recently joined JLL as a managing director focusing on the sale and acquisition of self-storage properties around the U.S. In JLL’s Los...
People in transition hit the sweet spot for what most storage operators and investors want in a location. So it’s no surprise that military markets have been a target to capture some of those customers on the move. Yet government cutbacks on military spending in...
Self-storage remains the flavor of the month with real estate investors. Industry experts offer 12 pieces of advice for newcomers on how to be smart when investing in self-storage properties. 1. Scrutinize cash flow. “Self-storage is driven by cash flow. So cash flow...
