Story Highlights
- Titan Vanguard filed application for a 125,000-square-foot self-storage building in Orlando
- Storage market has “hit bottom,” with 3-3.5% growth predicted
- Central Florida storage transactions increased to $71 million in 2024
A self-storage facility is in the works in the Lee Vista area as experts say the storage market has “hit bottom.”
Robert Ziegenfuss of Orlando-based Z Development Services filed an application with the City of Orlando for a four-story, 125,000-square-foot self-storage building at 6252 Lee Vista Blvd.
Ziegenfuss was not available for comment. The application was filed on behalf of landowner Titan Vanguard of Atlanta, which did not return a request for comment.
Titan Vanguard bought the property for $14 million in 2022, according to county records. The 5.7-acre property includes a two-story, 65,800-square-foot office. A site plan shows the new building would be constructed on the east end of the parking lot, leaving the existing building untouched.
There is no indication if the new facility will be managed by a national brand.
Meanwhile, an investment firm identified as Blue Door 6707 Narcoossee Rd DST bought the SmartStop Self-Storage on nearby Narcoossee Road in February for $17.4 million.
Mike Mele, Tampa-based leader of JLL’s storage advisory group, which is not involved with this project, said that the industry is poised for a return to normal business after seesawing through a dramatic post-Covid upswing and crash.
“What everybody is saying is that we’ve sort of hit bottom,” he said, adding a prediction of 3% to 3.5% growth for the year. “Rent has been flat to down [since 2023].”
In Central Florida, there was a total of $71 million in storage transactions in 2024, up from $57 million in 2023, according to a report from Yardi Matrix. Mele said the industry typically does roughly $6 billion in transactions annually nationwide.
Metro Orlando is the 11th largest market in the country for storage, with 31,873,726 leasable square feet, according to Yardi. The average facility is 60,827 square feet, and there are 101 new facilities either planned or under construction.
Mele says that occupancy in the area likely is at or above 90%. “These properties are now filling up physically, so they can cut out the discounts and the cheap rents. Then they can start with the existing customer rent increases to … get back on track.”
The industry is stable, Mele said, but it isn’t the most popular asset class for big returns. “It’s not this huge cash cow that I think a lot of people perceive. It’s steady return and a good return.”
