Self-Storage Development and Zoning Activity: September 2023

The global self-storage development pipeline continues to be extremely dynamic. Inside Self-Storage regularly covers new projects being planned and approved as well as zoning and other municipal issues. Following is activity taking place in September 2023.

4M Self Storage added 30 indoor units to its facility in Whitechurch, England, doubling its capacity. Specializing in portable-storage buildings, 4M launched its self-storage division in 2021. The company is a subsidiary of Grocott Group, which also owns Tilley Green Coffee, Whixall Marina and Nixons Pet & Country Store.

Apple Self Storage, which has more than 45 properties in Canada, opened a new location in St. Marys, Ontario. The facility at 50 Road 120 is the company’s first fully unmanned site. Founded in 1975, family-owned Apple operates in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Ontario.

Dallas-based developer Baranof Holdings LLC is seeking permission to develop a seven-story self-storage facility in Hollywood. Plans for the building on North Seward Street and North Hudson Avenue include 168,000 square feet of storage units as well as specialty storage for media such as video and audio tapes, photographs, and hard drives. The existing building will be demolished and replaced. The site is owned by Pure Silver Enterprises, which purchased it in 2013 for nearly $4 million. Founded in 2015, Baranof has acquired, developed and managed more than $1.5 billion in self-storage assets.

Barrett Enterprises LLC received approval to add 42 units to Pioneer Public Storage in Montpelier, Vermont. The facility at 190 River St. is on a parcel bisected by the Washington County Railroad. Two storage buildings will be added on a 1.75-acre section just south of the railroad tracks. The installation of downcast LED lights was a condition of receiving the conditional-use permit.

Basis Industrial will break ground later this month on a new self-storage facility in Voorhees Township, New Jersey. The company secured a $12.1 million construction loan from WSFS Bank for the 113,000-square-foot project at 111 Centennial Blvd. Expected to open next fall, the site will be managed by real estate investment trust (REIT) Public Storage Inc. Formerly known as MCSS Self-Storage, Basis rebranded last year. It owns more than 2 million square feet of self-storage and industrial real estate, primarily in Florida and across the Sun Belt. It has 15 self-storage projects in various stages of development.

U.K. self-storage operator Big Yellow Group PLC is developing a mixed-used project in Wapping, East London, that’ll include apartments and self-storage. Plans for the eight-story building at 60-70 and 100 The Highway and 110 Pennington St. include 132,000 square feet of self-storage and 114 homes. An existing building will be demolished. The project is expected to cost £36 million. Big Yellow operates 109 self-storage locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London and Southeast England.

Diamond Point Development, a real estate investment and operating company, is constructing a self-storage facility on a 3.5-acre lot in Danbury, Connecticut. Expected to open in December, the building at 95 Mill Plain Road will comprise 105,000 square feet. It’ll be managed and branded by REIT CubeSmart. Based in Georgia, Diamond Point is owned by brothers Aaron and Jason Sommer.

Frontera Real Estate Investments is developing a 733-unit, 80,000-square-foot self-storage facility in downtown Lancaster, California. The company secured a $10 million construction loan through mortgage-banking company BWE. Founded in 2015, Frontera is a commercial real estate company that specializes in self-storage, industrial projects and unentitled land in the western U.S.

Hwy 35 Storage completed an expansion at its facility in Royse City, Texas. The project at 7878 FM 35 added two climate-controlled buildings, drive-up units and outdoor vehicle-storage options. The property is owned by Big Guy Storage LLC, which specializes in the development and management of storage condominiums.

Insite Property Group, the parent company of SecureSpace Self Storage, opened a new location in Queens, New York. The facility at 131-21 14th Ave. comprises 131,691 square feet of climate-controlled storage. Based in Torrance, California, InSite has more than 50 facilities operating or under construction.

McCarthy’s Storage World converted the former Land Rover car dealership on Savile Street in Sheffield, England, into its second self-storage location. The building comprises 50,000 square feet. The company also operates a facility in Leeds, England, which opened in 2008 and has two other projects in development. McCarthy’s is the operating brand for MJ McCarthy Holdings Ltd. Founded more than 50 years ago, it also provides moving services, records storage, shredding and other business services.

Northwest Building LLC opened a new self-storage facility in the Del Sur neighborhood of San Diego. The property at 16001 Babcock St. comprises 99,400 square feet in 1,116 units. It was designed by Seattle-based Jackson | Main Architecture and constructed by El Cajon, California-based RDS Contracting Inc. The site will be managed by West Coast Self Storage Group (WSSG), an Everett, Washington-based property-management, acquisition and development company.

Padlock Partners UK Fund IV, an unincorporated investment trust with interest in commercial real estate, is developing a self-storage facility in Chippenham, England. The company purchased a former warehouse for £1.7 that it plans to demolish. It’ll then construct a three-story building comprising 38,000 net rentable square feet in its place. Padlock operates three storage facilities in Edmonton, Haverhill and Newbury, England.

Public Storage completed construction of an 18-story facility in Manhattan, New York City, in a joint venture with Highland Development Ventures. The building at 155 W. 29th St. was designed by Mancini Duffy Architects and developed by The Davis Cos., with Cauldwell Wingate serving as the contractor. It comprises 180,000 square feet in 6,000 units. Based in Glendale, California, Public Storage has interests in 2,888 self-storage facilities in 40 states, with approximately 206 million net rentable square feet.

S’more Space Storage opened a new location in Willow Street, Pennsylvania. The facility at 105 W. Penn Grant Road comprises 66,518 square feet in 417 units and outdoor vehicle-storage spaces. It’ll be managed by Storage Asset Management, a self-storage management company based in York, Pennsylvania. S’more also operates a site in Landisville, Pennsylvania.

Shurgard Self Storage Ltd., the European affiliate of Public Storage Inc., has two projects planned for Stuttgart, Germany. It received planning approval to build a facility in the Wangen district that’ll comprise 7,000 square meters in about 1,000 units. The €16.4 million project is expected to open next year. The company also acquired land in the northeast on which it intends to develop a 6,900-square-meter asset offering approximately 1,000 units. That project is expected to be complete in 2026. Shurgard operates 268 self-storage properties comprising 1.4 million net rentable square meters in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Stuf, a startup business that partners with commercial-property owners to convert unused space to self-storage, opened a new location in Atlanta. The space inside the mixed-use building at 1170 Howell Mill Road offers 7,000 square feet in 100 units. Founded in 2020 and based in New York, Stuf operates facilities in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

SurePoint Development, which operates five facilities in Texas, is developing a new location in New Braunfels, Texas. Construction will begin on the three-story building near the corner of FM 1863 and Texas State Highway 46 next spring. Once complete, the facility will comprise 94,000 rentable square feet of climate-controlled space and be managed by CubeSmart. SurePoint is led by Jeff Bailey, Brian Cisarik, Robert Loeb and Clint Wynn.

Twenty4 Secure Storage intends to develop a self-storage facility in Bradford, England, on the former site of Ackroyds mill. The project on Factory Street will open with 10 shipping containers and expand capacity over three years. The mill was destroyed by fire in 2011 and demolished the following year. A decision on the application is expected next month. Twenty4 operates a self-storage facility in Leeds, England.

Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc. is converting the former RONA home-improvement store in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, to self-storage. The company acquired the 16.5-acre property in July. Once complete, the 36,804-square-foot building at 943 Barrydowne Road will offer 650 climate-controlled units. Established in 1945, U-Haul owns and manages more than 78 million square feet of storage space nationwide.

An unnamed developer has proposed a three-story self-storage facility for The Crossings mixed-use development in Carrollton, Virgina. The Isle of Wight County’s Planning Commission recommended approving a conditional-use permit for the 75,000-square-foot building off Lori Anne Way, the access road to development’s commercial phase. The county supervisors will consider the proposal at their Sept. 21 meeting.

The Huntington, West Virginia, City Council approved a zoning ordinance paving the way for an unnamed developer to build a 175-unit self-storage facility in the city. The property in the Westmoreland neighborhood was rezoned from residential to industrial upon the recommendation of the planning commission.

Sources:
The Sudbury Star, U-Haul Repurposing Sudbury Building That Sat Empty for Five Years
The Smithfield Times, Climate-Controlled Self-Storage Proposed for The Crossings
Global Newswire, SecureSpace Announces Opening of New Self-Storage Facility in Queens, New York
Newswire, Padlock Partners UK Fund Iv Completes Acquisition of Chippenham Property
Lootpress, Zoning Change for Construction of 175 Storage Unit Passes Through Huntington City Council
The Real Deal, Self-Storage Developer Plans New Hollywood Film Vault
New York Yimby, Public Storage Facility Completes Construction at 155 West 29th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan
News Times, Self-Storage Facility on Danbury’s West Side That’s Arousing Curiosity Opens in December
Construction Enquirer, Big Yellow Gets Go-Ahead for 114 Flats and Self Storage Hub
ShareCast, Big Yellow Given Green Light for New £56m Wapping Store
Patch, Boca Raton-based Basis Industrial Secures $12.1M Construction Loan for Self-Storage Facility
PR.com, West Coast Self-Storage Opens Storage Facility in San Diego County
PRWeb, Introducing Apple Self Storage’s Innovative Unmanned Facility in St Marys, Ontario
Shropshire Star, Shropshire-Based 4M Expand Storage Facilities
Shurgard, Shurgard Increases Expansion Plan in Stuttgart (Germany)
Telegraph & Argus, Former Bradford Mill Site Could Become Self-Storage Business
The Business Desk, Former Land Rover Dealership Site Is Now a Self-Storage Facility
The Gilmer Mirror, Hwy 35 Storage Completes Site Expansion, Introduces Enhanced Storage Options
Times Argus, DRB Approves Self-Storage Project