Earlier this month, Global Self Storage, in San Bernardino County, California, sold for $4.5 million after having been foreclosed upon earlier in the year. This Monday, in another early indication of the improving economy and the rising market for self storage facilities, Strategic Storage Trust, Inc. (SSTI), bought two new self storage facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a combined purchase price of $5.7 million, paid in cash.
SSTI bought one property on Landings Drive, and one on Lebanon Road, in Pittsburgh. Both properties were previously owned by Sovran Acquisition Group. Together, the facilities will become part of a new self-storage brand established by SSTI in mid-November: Smart Stop Self Storage. SSTI hopes eventually to re-brand all its properties, of which there are 24 in 13 states, with the Smart Stop name.
SSTI's new Pittsburgh properties include an 820-unit property on Lebanon Road, about seven miles from downtown Pittsburgh, and a 470-unit property on Landings Drive, about 14 miles northwest of downtown. The Lebanon Road property was built in 1983. It has approximately 100,000 rentable square feet, and sits on 5.7 acres. It includes three two-story buildings, one of which contains an office and residence apartment. Meanwhile, the Landings Drive facility dates from 1990. It includes 55,200 rentable square feet and sits on 3.5 acres. It includes six one-story buildings. Both facilities include units with drive-up access and climate control, as well as security cameras, a secure code access entry gate, and perimeter fencing.
Pittsburgh has a population of 2.3 million, and is ranked 25th in the nation for jobs within its downtown area, and 6th in the nation in job density. It was named the most liveable city in the United States, and the 29th most livable city worldwide, by The Economist magazine. SSTI chairman and SEO H. Michael Schwartz was enthusiastic about the expansion into Pittsburgh. "Pittsburgh is a great example of a city that has transformed from being influenced by a single-concentrated industry into a stable and well-diversified economy that includes large sector employers in healthcare, finance, technology, and energy," he said on Monday. "This is why we continue to be interested in self storage facilities in this market."
SSTI's senior vice president of acquisitions, Wayne Johnson, agreed with Schwartz, adding, "This all cash transaction extends the SSTI footprint into the Pittsburgh market by acquiring two self storage sites offering a great mix of drive-up and climate-controlled self storage and also RV/boat parking."
SSTI is a relatively young company. It was established a year and a half ago as a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust specializing in self storage. (It is not affiliated with the Self-Storage Training Institute, a different organization which is also identified by the acronym SSTI.) SSTI's other properties are located in Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, Kentucky, Alabama, California, Nevada, Texas, South Carolina, and Tennessee. SSTI is sponsored by Strategic Capital Holdings.