Author: Shinil Krishnan

Basis Industrial Breaks Ground on 707-Unit Storage Facility in Surprise, Arizona

Basis Industrial has closed a $20.5 million construction loan and completed a land acquisition for a self-storage development at 17140 W. Waddell Road in Surprise, Arizona. The project, situated within the Truman Ranch master-planned community, will deliver 707 climate-controlled units across approximately 102,673 square feet. Financing was provided by NexBank and NexPoint. Construction is expected to begin later in 2026, with completion targeted for fall 2027. The development represents Basis Industrial’s first entry into the Arizona market. Read the Full Article Source: citybiz

JLL Arranges Refinancing for Extra Space Storage Facility in South Portland, Maine

JLL Capital Markets has arranged a five-year refinancing for a climate-controlled self-storage facility at 193 Western Avenue in South Portland, Maine, on behalf of borrower The Ardent Companies. The loan was secured through a regional bank. The property, completed in 2022 and managed by Extra Space Storage, has sustained occupancy above 90% for 12 consecutive months. The transaction illustrates continued lender appetite for stabilized self-storage assets in established New England markets with favorable demographic profiles. Read the Full Article Source: JLL

AI in Self-Storage: What Should Operators Be Asking?

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of the self-storage technology conversation. Software providers are introducing AI-powered analytics, pricing, customer communications, marketing automation, forecasting, and other capabilities designed to help operators run their businesses more effectively. That creates a challenge: How do you determine which AI capabilities matter most to your business? The question isn’t whether AI belongs in self-storage. It does. The better question is where should you start? For independent and smaller operators, AI should first make something they already have much more valuable: their data. Start With the…

Weekly Self Storage Transaction Roundup: 8/18/26 – 8/29/26

Thirty-seven properties recently changed hands, with portfolio activity dominating the deal flow: seven multi-property transactions accounted for 31 of the assets. Two of the largest disclosed deals concentrated capital in the Pacific Northwest, where Public Storage acquired 10 Money Saver facilities across Puget Sound for $96.9 million and 5 more in the Portland metro area for $54.2 million. Several Puget Sound properties combine constrained supply, affluent demand bases, and strong rents, including Kirkland, with just 4.4 square feet per capita (SF/capita), a $178,400 median income, and a $2.41/SF walk-in rate.…

Great American Self Storage Launches Gas Card Promotion in New Jersey

Great American Self Storage is running a limited-time promotion at its Stratford, New Jersey facility, offering prepaid gas cards to new renters through November 1, 2026. Tenants signing leases on units 10×10 or larger receive a $50 card; those renting smaller units receive $25. The facility also offers 50% off rent for nonprofits. The promotion is an example of the tenant incentive strategies some independent operators are deploying to support occupancy in a period of broader consumer financial pressure. Read the Full Article Source: Des Moines Register

Featured Broker: Scott King

Scott King is the founder, principal broker, and owner of Merit Commercial Real Estate in Medford, Oregon. He has been a commercial broker since 2006. Scott takes pride in providing value-added service that is driven by long-term relationships. While specializing in self-storage brokerage, he is experienced in income property sales and analysis, market and feasibility studies, distressed property disposition, and general commercial real estate brokerage and leasing. He counsels clients on site selection, design/build, financing options, operational, technological, and other issues related to self-storage. Scott holds a degree in business…

Self Storage Manager Embeds AI Agent in Platform for Multi-Site Operators

Self Storage Manager, Inc. has added an AI agent called SAMARA to its SSM Cloud property management platform. The tool enables operators to retrieve occupancy, performance, and delinquency data across individual sites or full portfolios through natural language text or voice queries, bypassing conventional report navigation. SAMARA is currently available to SSM Cloud subscribers. The release is part of a broader trend of self-storage technology providers integrating conversational AI into management platforms as operators seek more efficient ways to access data across multi-facility portfolios. Read the Full Article Source: CISION…

LA Planning Commission Approves Trojan Storage Project in Sun Valley, California

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission has approved a mixed-use project at 7526 North Bellaire Avenue in Sun Valley for Trojan Storage, pairing 220,000 square feet of self-storage with nine street-facing townhomes. The storage facility would be set behind the residential units. A zone change and general plan amendment are still needed before construction can begin. Los Angeles ranks among the most undersupplied major self-storage markets in the U.S., with 2.1 square feet per capita, and has repurposed 1.4 million square feet of commercial space for storage over the past…

The Expensive Google Ads Mistake Operators Should Avoid

Ask most self-storage operators about their Google Ads experience, and you’ll get one of two answers: it worked great, or it was a waste of money. Rarely is an in-between. And more often than not, the difference between those two outcomes has nothing to do with the platform or the operator’s market. Google Ads performance comes down to maintenance. Was the campaign something you launched and left once, or was it something you continuously improved? Why You Should Never Turn Google Ads Off Storage is a needs-driven purchase. Nobody browses…

Location Matters!

Site selection has become one of the clearest drivers of self-storage performance. Well-sited facilities are outperforming their peers by 15 to 18 percent in operating metrics and reaching stabilization noticeably faster. The Three-Part Lease-Up Equation That Sets Strong Assets Apart The self-storage industry’s site selection framework has grown considerably more sophisticated since 2021 – and that today’s most successful facilities are green lighted on criteria that reflect that higher standard. Location has always mattered, and now it works best alongside other factors – internet and mobile search presence, investment in…