Author: Shinil Krishnan

Featured Broker: Tom De Jong, MBA, SIOR

Tom de Jong, Executive Vice President at Colliers, specializes in the sale, development, and disposition of self-storage and industrial assets throughout the United States. Over the course of his career, Tom has closed more than $2 billion in self-storage transactions, with recent closings across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose/Silicon Valley, and Washington State. Tom has expanded his practice by bringing on his son, Dylan de Jong, as a partner, strengthening the team’s national reach, market coverage, and client service capabilities. Tom is an SIOR designee,…

Cache County Approves Conditional Use Permit for Wellsville Safe Storage in Utah

The Cache County Planning Commission has approved a conditional use permit for Wellsville Safe Storage, a proposed eight-acre, four-building self-service facility near 3900 South and U.S. 89-91 in Utah. The unmanned site would operate 24 hours a day. Approval conditions include compliance with county screening standards, with discussion covering landscaping near an adjacent canal, lighting, parking, and traffic. The permit passed with two commissioners voting against it. Read the Full Article Source: HJ News

STORExpress Expands Into Ohio With Youngstown Storage Facility Purchase

STORExpress has acquired a nearly century-old, 168,000-square-foot storage facility on North Avenue in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, for $1.48 million at auction. The property is currently operating under new ownership. STORExpress, which runs 11 locations across Ohio and Pennsylvania, plans to renovate the building into a drive-through self-storage facility, with completion targeted for spring 2027. The purchase extends the operator’s footprint into the Youngstown market and reflects continued regional operator interest in repositioning older storage assets. Read the Full Article Source: 21 WFMJ

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…