Strategic Storage Trust Inc., the first and only non-traded real estate investment trust in the self-storage segment, is celebrating its three-year anniversary. The company has grown its portfolio to include 61 self-storage facilities in 16 states and Canada. Since its launch in March 2008, the company has raised more than $230 million in equity.

"This is an important milestone for our company. Three years ago, we started out with no assets, no liabilities and no shareholders in one of the worst economies in modern memory," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO. "In the midst of the financial meltdown, we saw opportunity and were able to build the company from zero to over $375 million in assets. I'd say we've started off in good form."

Last year, Schwartz was named one of "The Top 10 People to Watch" by National Real Estate Investor magazine, an authority in commercial real estate trends.

Strategic Storage Trust recently entered the international marketplace with its first self-storage acquisition in Canada totaling approximately $14 million and 1,060 units. The company is well-positioned to diversify and grow its portfolio, according to Schwartz. "We're raising money, we're acquiring properties, building a brand, creating partnerships, and if we keep investing in those tools, we hope to create value in the long term for our shareholders, he said.

The company launched a major re-branding campaign last year, with a goal of rebranding all of its properties under the name SmartStop Self Storage by the end of 2011. Strategic Storage Trust is also aiming to launch a SmartStop Application for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry users this year.

The Strategic Storage Trust portfolio includes approximately 41,000 self-storage units and 5.1 million rentable square feet of storage space. The companys sponsor is Strategic Capital Holdings LLC, which manages a growing portfolio of more than 7 million square feet of commercial properties, including 5.5 million square feet of self-storage, with a combined market value of more than $756 million.

A mixed-use development project in Meridian, Miss., that includes an attached self-storage facility celebrated its grand opening March 30.

A+ Self Storage is part of Atrium Mini-Mall, which includes more than 60 diverse vendors under one roof. The multi-use business was developed by Wayne Wuestefeld, whose father operated a furniture store in the same location from 1972 to 1982.

A+ Self Storage features climate-controlled units in a range of sizes. Other amenities include 24/7 access, Wi-Fi, a loading dock, boxes and moving supplies, pharmaceutical units, micro offices and artist studios. The facility is offering a $1 move-in special during the month of April. A+ Self Storage is located at 5009 Highway 493 in Meridian, a city of 40,000 residents near the Alabama border in east central Mississippi.

A-1 Self Storage, a provider of self-storage in California, is donating money to the Saint Alphonsus Foundation Project Haiti. This fund promotes emergency intervention and provides medical aid to those affected by the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

A-1 Self Storage is proud to support Saint Alphonsus Foundation Project Haiti and our global community by helping meet the needs of Haitis poverty-stricken people, said Brian Caster, president and CEO. It takes great strength to face the rubble that once was your world and see the potential of tomorrow. St. Alphonsus is stepping in, providing medical aid and encouraging the people of Haiti to see hope. What a privilege to be one of many who make that happen.

The Saint Alphonsus Foundation finds financial support for the Saint Alphonsus medical centers and its many charitable organizations. Project Haiti was created in 1994 to provide resources and support for community members in need. The project founded a hospital and orphanage. Project Haiti sends regular shipments of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, and each year a medical mission team travels to Port-au-Prince to offer help, support and education to the hospital and orphanage.

A self-storage facility in Cathedral City, Calif., is partnering with other local businesses to host a carwash fundraiser April 16 for a fallen police officer.

The carwash at Cathedral Village Self Storage, 32500 Date Palm Drive, will be from noon until 4 p.m. Representatives from Absolute Detail and Desert Cities Young Marines will assist in the fundraiser.

Jermaine Gibson of the Cathedral City Police Department died March 18 when he lost control of his patrol car during a high-speed chase. He was a new father and a Marine Corps veteran.

All the funds raised during the event will go to the Jermaine Gibson Memorial Fund.

Bahraini investment firm Arcapita Bank sold its 80 percent interest in two self-storage portfolios comprising 72 facilities to Shurgard Europe, the owner of the remaining 20 percent, for 412 million euros (approximately $586 million). Arcapita and Shurgard formed their first joint venture to develop self-storage in 2003, and since then, have built almost 4 million square feet of storage space in seven European countries.

The investments have benefited from their geographic diversity and their limited exposure to the slower performers amongst the European economies, said Atif A. Abdulmalik, Arcapitas CEO. The economic downturn presented a number of challenges, but the real estate group has worked closely with our joint venture partner at the portfolio level to protect the interests of our investors.

Established in 1997, Arcapita operates out of offices in Atlanta, Bahrain, London and Singapore. Seventy percent of the banks paid-in capital of $311 million is held by approximately 300 prominent individuals and institutions, mostly from the Arabian Gulf region. The bank has completed investments with a total transaction value of more than $28 billion in its four lines of business: private equity, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital. Arcapita recently announced the financial results of the six months ending Dec. 31, 2010, reporting a net income of $34 million.

Based in Brussels, Shurgard Europe operates self-storage facilities in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The company  has been active in Europe since 1995.

Access Self-Storage and AERC Recycling Solutions have partnered to celebrate "Earth Month," as Earth Day is recognized on April 22. Throughout April, businesses and individuals can drop off used, old or unwanted electronics at participating Access Self-Storage locations, and AERC Recycling Solutions will dispose of the materials.

According to a news release, AERC will not send any of the disposed materials to a landfill. The company is also assuring any electronic data contained in disposed devices, such as hard drives, can be completely destroyed for free.

Collection time runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at each site. One event has already occurred (April 2) at an Access Self Storage in Bernardsville, N.J., but drop-off events remain at the following Access Self Storage locations:

• Saturday, April 9, 574 Commerce St., Franklin Lakes
• Saturday, April 16, 135 Amboy Ave., Woodbridge
• Saturday, April 23, 750 Boulevard, Kenilworth

Access Self Storage has 19 locations in New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area. AERC Recycling Solutions assists customers in end-of-life asset management, including those containing sensitive data and components hazardous to the environment. The company has six locations in the United States, including one in Flanders, N.J., and maintains a zero-waste-to-landfill policy for all of its hazardous electronics and electrical-recycling services.

Real estate investment trust Sovran Self Storage Inc. will pay its shareholders a quarterly dividend of $.45 per share of common stock on April 26. To receive the dividend, shareholders must be on record as of April 11. Sovrans annualized dividend is $1.80 per share, which, based on today's price, equates to an annual rate of approximately 4.5 percent.

Sovran is a self-administered and self-managed equity real estate investment trust in the business of acquiring and managing self-storage. The company operates 377 facilities in 24 states under the name Uncle Bob's Self Storage.

SMD Software Inc., producer of SiteLink facility-management software for self-storage and portable-storage operations, is integrating its Web Edition with District Manager data-analytics software created by Qstrom. The partnership will allow users to access unique reports and graphs that will help them better understand their financial transactions, improve collections efforts and eliminate wasteful concessions.

A reporting and graphing tool that analyzes self-storage operations, District Manager mines SiteLink data to create graphs, dashboards and cockpit charting. Applying various time scales and analytic techniques, the software will uncover errors and hidden inefficiencies in a self-storage operations deposits, collections, concessions and delinquencies as well as move-ins, move-outs and transfers. Audit reports monitor all transactions and expose ghost units, even without physical audits. Facility owners receive automatic e-mail alerts when operations exceed predetermined levels.

SiteLink collects, organizes and measures data points for all areas of self-storage operation including marketing, collections, specials, corporate discounts, CRM (customer relationship management) and leads, and more. It instantly shares data with platforms such as District Manager through its open interface.

Designed for the unique needs of the self-storage industry, District Manager is being used by hundreds of single- and multi-facility operators. According to software creator and Qstrom CEO Paul Darden, these operators have found savings ranging from hundreds of dollars to more than $5,000 per store per month.

Darden started Qstrom in 2009 to create District Manager. He has been involved in buying, selling, owning, developing, managing and auditing hundreds of storage facilities over the past 30 years and developed the criteria, thresholds and algorithms that underlie the analytics software.

SiteLink Web Edition has more than 4,000 installations worldwide. The software readily integrates with other platforms such as smartphones, websites, listing services, INSOMNIAC self-storage kiosks, Lead Tracking Solutions and central mail providers.

Police are still looking for a man involved in a shooting Sunday at a self-storage facility in Watertown, N.Y.

The man has been identified as 25-year-old Leonard R. Whitefield. Police want to question him about a shooting at ABC Self-Storage on Water Street where an unnamed soldier from Fort Drum was shot in the leg.

The shooting occurred Sunday around 11 a.m. and involved two men and a woman, all three soldiers from Fort Drum, an army base located near the facility. According to police, the woman and Whitefield met the other man, who is the womans ex-boyfriend, at the self-storage unit to exchange belongings. An argument ensued between the two men and the suspect fired multiple times at the other man.

The names of the woman and the injured soldier have not been released by police. The 25-year-old man was being treated at Samaritan Medical Center. His injuries were not life-threatening, according to reports.

Police found the weapon, a . 45-caliber handgun, Sunday inside a duplex apartment on Central St., the residence of the suspects girlfriend. Fort Drum officials have been notified about the shooting.