Real Estate Investors Turn to Self Storage Properties

Investors continue to take advantage of real estate investment opportunities in self storage as a way to escape otherwise risky commercial real estate markets, reports this week suggest. Self storage properties -- or land destined for self storage properties -- changed hands in Texas, Florida, and New York this week.

The Florida self storage market was especially robust, with three self storage property sales occurring recently.

• An investor bought Rutland Northeast Storage of St. Petersburg for just over $1 million. The sale was brokered by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. Rutland Northeast Storage was built in 1974 and has approximately 11,973 feet of rentable square feet.
• Tallahassee Self Storage sold for $4.2 million in another Marcus & Millichap-brokered sale. Tallahassee Self Storage was built in 1988, renovated in 2006, and has 93,135 rentable square feet.
• In Altamonte Springs, Florida, Assured Self Storage sold for $5.3 million. That sale, as well, was brokered by Marcus & Millichap. Assured Self Storage was built in 1998 and has 84,471 rentable square feet. 
• In Armonk, New York, a portfolio of self storage properties was sold for $25 million to Kayne Anderson Real Estate Partners and Flagship Investment Group, who have joined together in a new joint real estate venture. The portfolio includes five self storage facilities with a combined total of 375,097 square feet. Although the deal closed in New York, where Kayne Anderson is headquartered, the self storage properties that comprise the portfolio are located near Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida.

Meanwhile, the New York market was heating up as well. In Marcy, New York, Store America was sold to a private buyer who was investing in self storage for the first time. Store America of Marcy was built in 2001 and has 25,200 square feet. The broker for the Store America sale was Investment Real Estate LLC.

In addition, Texas self storage owner Don Valk bought land to start a new Assured Self Storage facility in Arlington, Texas. Assured Self Storage already has 22 self storage facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The new facility will be located on 4.5 acres at the corner of U.S. Highway 287 and Turner Warnell Road.

Sources used:

“Arlington land sold for new self storage location.” City Biz Real Estate. Oct. 19, 2010.

“Armonk-based Kayne Anderson buys $25M self storage portfolio.” City Biz Real Estate. Oct. 21, 2010.

“Assured Self Storage buys land to build in Arlington, Texas.” Inside Self-Storage. Oct. 21, 2010.

“Store America in Marcy, N.Y., sold to private, first-time self-storage buyer.” Inside Self-Storage. Oct. 21, 2010.