The development team included design firm Ware Malcomb and Gerard Construction, which provided general contracting services. The Budd Lake facility was originally designed as a speculative development to yield the highest possible number of rentable units, according to Ware Malcomb Regional Director Jon Anderson.
The project was subject to a $14 million construction loan in 2022, provided by Bank OZK.
The four-building property offers 761 non-climate and climate-controlled units, ranging between 20 and 300 square feet. On-site amenities include video surveillance, parking, drive-up and gated access, contactless renting and on-site manager.
The project took shape on 5.5 acres at 89 U.S. Highway 46 and has access to Interstate 80. Newark, N.J., and downtown New York City are within 35 and 45 miles, respectively. The facility is one of the two available within a 3-mile radius, offering residents 3.8 rentable square feet of storage space per capita. The Northern New Jersey market had 15 self-storage properties currently under construction as of July, set to add approximately 3.1 million square feet to the existing inventory.
The self-storage construction pipeline has remained steady nationwide. The sector is facing financing difficulties, while advertised street rates have remained negative on an annual basis as of May. The under-construction projects made up 3.6 per cent of the total stock, unchanged from the previous month.
