Storage Post has secured a $47 million first mortgage loan for its 1,959-unit self storage facility at 444 E. 10th St., in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood. Nuveen Real Estate issued the note in a transaction arranged by JLL Capital Markets.
Storage Post and Almanac Realty Investors acquired the property in 2022 from a private individual, for $61 million. At the time, the owners landed a $40.3 million acquisition loan held by Heitman, with an initial maturity set for April 2025.
Storage Post manages two other locations under the same brand in the borough, at 4396 Broadway in Washington Heights and 475 Amsterdam Ave., on the Upper West Side.
JLL Capital Markets Senior Managing Director Steven Klein and Senior Director Robert Tonnessen worked on behalf of Storage Post in securing the new loan.
A Manhattan facility nearing its centennial
Originally completed in 1928 as the Wheatsworth Bakery Building, the property was converted to self storage in 1995 and most recently underwent capital improvements totaling $8.6 million, which targeted full climatization, upgraded electrical systems, new units and interior loading upgrades. Fully rebranded as Storage Post East Village, the 92,470-square-foot facility rises seven stories and has units ranging from 20 to 345 square feet. The property reached 91.2 percent occupancy this year.
Storage Post East Village is located near seven universities, including NYU and The New School, both 2 miles away. There are only 0.63 square feet of self storage per capita within 1 mile of the property, according to JLL. Meanwhile, 81 percent of residential units in the area surrounding Storage Post East Village are rentals.
Self storage sector adjusts well
As of November, New York City’s self storage average street rate per square foot clocked in at $34.53, reflecting a 0.7 percent drop month-over-month, according to a recent report. Yet, the NYC rate still stood at more than double the $16.38 per square foot U.S. figure, keeping the Big Apple’s spot as the most expensive market nationwide.
Despite rents continuing to inch downward across almost all U.S. markets in the short term, recent self storage industry trends are more optimistic, positioning 2025 as the year of stabilization after the pandemic-era development boom. Not surprisingly, this year’s total transaction volume has already surpassed the 2024 figure, according to the same report.
