Self-storage real estate investment trust CubeSmart has formed a joint venture with an affiliate of Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC (HSRE). The newly formed business consists of nine self-storage facilities valued at $90 million.

Located in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the assets were previously part of CubeSmart's third-party management platform. The company will continue to operate them and will rebrand them under the CubeSmart name.

CubeSmart and HRSE each have a 50 percent ownership interest in the joint venture. CubeSmart contributed approximately $15 million in cash. HSRE contributed the self-storage properties and received approximately $15 million in cash. The venture has approximately $60.25 million of debt, secured by the properties.

"We are pleased to close the joint venture transaction and deploy capital into assets within our core markets, said Christopher Marr, CubeSmart president and chief investment officer. "We continue to leverage off of our third-party management program as a way to create off-market acquisition opportunities. We already had a great relationship with our new partner and look forward to working with them going forward."

Formerly known as U-Store-It Trust, Wayne, Pa.-based CubeSmart owns or manages 451 self-storage properties across the United States and operates the CubeSmart Network, which consists of approximately 813 additional self-storage facilities. CubeSmart services include storage customization, logistics services, moving services, organizational services and office amenities.

Founded in 2005, HSRE is a real estate private equity firm with more than $3 billion in assets under management through private equity funds and public securities products. The private funds focus exclusively on the self-storage, education and healthcare segments of the U.S. real estate market. The firm owns approximately $2.7 billion in real estate assets including more than 62,100 self-storage units.

The Storage Business Owners Alliance LLC (SBOA), a cooperative organization that enables small to mid-size self-storage businesses to enjoy enhanced buying power, has partnered with the Canadian Self Storage Association (CSSA) to provide support for association members. CSSA members who join SBOA can take advantage of discount pricing from participating vendors who serve the Canada market.

I am thrilled that we have been able to put this joint SBOA-CSSA program together for the benefit of our members, said CSSA Director Sue Margeson. This program has the potential to enhance operations for self-storage owners and operators throughout Canada.

To take advantage of the program, CSSA members should contact the association office at 888.898.8538 or info@cssa.ca. SBOA membership is open to any self-storage owner or operator in the United States and Canada.

The SBOA enables smaller self-storage operations to enjoy the benefits of bulk buying power. The group has grown to 2,200 member facilities and 30 vendor partners. Members pay an annual membership fee to save on items such as packing and moving supplies, marketing services, payroll services, UPS shipping and more.

LifeStorage in Matteson, Ill., is holding a yard sale Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the facility, 21700 S. Cicero Ave. Residents are encouraged to donate items to LifeStorage by Friday. The event will benefit The Pantry of Rich Township, a non-for-profit, Salvation Army Unit extension. The organization provides qualifying families non-perishable food items, personal care products, disposable diapers and baby formula. It also offers limited utilities assistance.

LifeStorage Matteson store managers, Allison Thompson and Michael Gray, have an ongoing food drive at the facility, have participated in a hunger walk and held a charity car wash, all to benefit The Pantry. Altogether, theyve raised more than $1,100 in food and money donations.

There are a lot of families struggling in the community and The Pantry is a wonderful savior when it comes to being short on funds to buy food for your family. It not only helps with the food and utility bills, but even buys presents for young ones at Christmas time, Thompson said. Its a worthy charity and the yard sale should further help provide for families in need.

Desired donations include clothes, electronics, dishes, pots, pans, furniture, tools, toys, linens, yard equipment, bikes and knick knacks. Just ask us and well let you know if we will take it or not, Gray said.

Vicki Sline, director of The Pantry, is grateful for LifeStorages continued support. It's up to me to go out and procure to help feed the 900-plus families requesting aid per month. People have to remember, all it takes is one lost paycheck and those people, no matter what situation they were in, will still feel a crunch. Every cent that comes in to The Pantry goes right back out into the community.

LifeStorage Centers LLC, a self-storage operator with 18 facilities throughout Chicagoland, was founded in 2002 by owners Jean Jodoin and Christopher Barry.

Dads Self Storage recently opened in Arkansas City, Kan. The facility is at 3015 N. Second St., behind Zeller Moto Co.

The self-storage facility includes four buildings and a total of 97 self-storage units. The units are available in a range of sizes from 5-foot-by-10-foot to 12-foot-by-24-foot. Rental prices range from $35 to $85 per month.

Owner Larry Creel hopes the vicinity to nearby businesses will attract customers. The facility opened earlier this month, and Creel has already rented several units.

Chicago 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell was recognized Sept. 24 at an Honorary Toast of Appreciation luncheon hosted and sponsored by LifeStorage South Loop of Chicago. Self-storage facility managers Shalonda Siler and Janean Smith organized the event to show appreciation to Dowell for her hard work in the community.

LifeStorage South Loop at 2361 South State Street is one of 18 self-storage facilities operated by LifeStorage in the ChicagoLand area.

Elected in 2007, Alderman Dowell received her bachelors degree in developmental psychology from the University of Rochester and a masters degree in social service administration from the University of Chicago. She currently serves on several standing committees of the city council.

The aldermans objective for her constituents is to create significant legislation that continues to bring needed resources, jobs, services and infrastructure improvements to the wards schools, parks and residents. This includes holding town-hall meetings, hosting resource fairs, creating community gardens, holding charity drives, and working closely with the Chicago Police Department for community safety.

Its an honor for us to have such an outstanding and committed alderman that has been supportive to the community and us, Siler said. Her efforts have always been a push towards improving the 3rd Wards image to the city. The event she and Smith organized was intended as a forum for the public to come forward and show their support and appreciation for the aldermans commitment, dedication and heart, Siler said.

A family real estate business with a local tie has bought Spring Garden Self Storage at 530 S. Spring Garden Ave. in DeLand, Fla. Spring Garden Self Storage LLC bought the 645-unit storage business from T.D. Bank, doing business as Apex-ME Inc. in Portland, Maine, for $2.2 million, according to Volusia County property records.

"We are slowly growing and are able to take advantage of the economic downturn and buy properties at a great price," Stephen Shaffer of Shaffer Family Partnership told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Based in Goldenrod, Fla., Shaffer works with his brother Keith Shaffer of Orlando and father Robert Shaffer in DeBary, Fla. "With only a 48 percent occupancy, we plan to cut prices and beat everybody around us and fill it up."

Retired DeLand attorneys Dana Fogle and Harland Fogle, along with Leonard Marinaccio of Bomar Construction in Ormond Beach, Fla., built the self-storage facility in 2005.

A fire at a self-storage facility in Griffith, Ind., destroyed an entire building, but was contained before spreading to other buildings on the property.

The fire began late Friday evening in one of the storage units at Reserve Storage, 500 E. Ridge Road in the Ridge Business Park. The building, one of eight on the property, contained 50 self-storage units.

Investigators have yet to determine what started the blaze. It took firefighters several hours to get the fire under control, but they were able to contain it to the one building. No one was injured.

The self-storage industry in Singapore has made huge gains in the past year as more people seek to use storage units as an extension of their businesses or to store their collections.

The fast-growing market is being driven by business users looking to store their supplies and products. Corporate trainer Raj Sandhu stores props for his business in a 120-square-foot unit in Tanjong Pagar Distripark. Another business owner, Yitch Cheng, rents a unit to house stationary items including Smencils, fragrant pencils.

In addition to being able to quickly access their products and supplies, business owners also appreciate the low cost of renting a self-storage unit over a office or warehouse space. Sandhus unit runs about S$400 ($51) a month. Another draw is the ability to increase or scale back space.

Thirty percent of Lock+Stores tenants are businesses. The company recently completed a survey of its 300 customers and found collectors also make up a large portion of its clientele. Extra Space Storage Inc., which also has locations in Singapore, said 15 percent of its tenants are hobbyists.  

Singapore currently has eight self-storage operators with more than 20 facilities, totaling 1.3 million square feet.

By RK Kliebenstein

Many successful companies have that proven cheeky or less than conventional approaches to even the most serious business topics can have stellar results. Just look at Southwest Airlines, a company famous for getting your attention during the pre-flight instruction. Rather than some droll recording, its flight attendants customize and personalize their announcements.

Why shouldnt we take a similar approach in self-storage? Some levity in our communication with tenants might go a long way toward improving customer relations.

One of the most boring self-storage documents is the facility rules and regulations. Every property has a set of such guidelines for tenants. Its important stuff, but usually pretty dull. For example, most facilities have a rule for tenants to follow when they wish to vacate their storage space. It usually goes something like, A tenant wishing to vacate his or her storage space must provide seven days of notice prior to move-out, and the unit must be left empty and clean. Its a good rule, but how can you spice it up? Try one of these humorous approaches, which make plays on Paul Simons popular song 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover:

• There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but theres only one way to leave your storage space at XYZ Storage.
• You can step out the back, Jack, but we prefer you use our exit gate.
• You can make a new plan, Stan, and we hope the next time you need storage, you plan to choose us. 
• You can drop off the key, Lee, and we want to remind you that you are a paying guest up until the time you remove your lock from the space.
• Please stop by the office and leave us a love note on one of our so sorry forms, or send a Dear John e-mail to tearsandgoodbye@xyzstorage.com.

Presenting Things in a Positive Light

Rules and regulations tend to be negative, frequently structured as do nots. We almost always use downbeat messaging to get these important points across. But such instructions do nothing to build positive relations with customers. Consider these fun alternatives:

• Boring: No smoking on the premises at any time.
• Fun 1: If youre smoking at our facility, well assume youre on fire and need to be extinguished, so expect to be drenched by our hose.
• Fun 2: Maybe our competitors encourage smoking, but we like you and would like you to be around for many years. Please be smoke-free on our property.
  
• Boring: No tailgating.
• Fun 1: Nine out of 10 insurance companies recommend tailgating for tenants who like to fill out insurance claims and pay deductibles.
• Fun 2: Tailgating may be away to meet new friends, although we highly recommend Match.com.

Keep It Legal

If you choose to liven up your facility rules and regulations, make sure you have them reviewed by your legal counsel. This is always a good practice, whether you take a straightforward approach or create something more innovative. Nothing says you cant have two sets of rulesan official version and one thats more entertaining. Perhaps laminate a copy of the fun set to go over with your customers at the time of lease signing, and then give them a copy of the stuffy set to take with them.

If you work for a self-storage chain or corporation, get full approval from your supervisor before going all Ernest Hemingway on your facility rules. Your employer may have strict guidelines and disapprove of any deviation from corporate policy. Then again, who knows? Maybe your boss will read your creative work and decide its time for a change.

Putting a little diversion into your communication with self-storage tenants will catch their attention, improve your customer relations and help present your facility in a positive light.

RK Kliebenstein is the author of How to Make Money in Self-Storage and How to Make MORE Money in Self-Storage, available at www.h2mmm.com. Hes also vice president of business development for Metro Storage LLC, which offers third-party management assignments and acquisitions of multi-store portfolios. To reach him, call 623.234.1231; e-mail rk@metrostorage.com.