Developer plans 1M sf of self storage for Miami-Dade

Renderings of the self-storage facilities
Renderings of the self-storage facilities

Could self storage be the next big thing in real estate? At least one development firm thinks so.

Miami City Self Storage, which develops in-fill storage facilities throughout South Florida, just picked up six parcels in Miami-Dade County as part of its plan to develop 1 million square feet of self storage.

Each of the six properties will house a 100,000-square-foot building with 1,000 climate-controlled units.

The firm is a joint venture between Jay Massirman, Stephen Garchik and Steve McBride.

Massirman is the founder of the Miami-based investment firm Rivergate Companies and former vice chairman of commercial real estate services firm CBRE. Garchik and McBride are members of SJM Partners, a development and management firm that has offices in Virginia and Palm Beach.

The self-storage business feeds off of what Miami City Self Storage calls the four D’s: death, divorce, disaster and dislocation.

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And business is good, with $24 billion in revenue generated in the U.S. by the self storage industry in 2014, according to the Self Storage Association.

“We launched our South Florida storage venture early in the cycle and were able to secure six premier sites,” Massirman said in a statement. “We are aggressively seeking new sites and have several parcels in the acquisition pipeline.”

Rivergate also entered into a joint-venture last year with KW Property Management & Consulting. The new company, Rivergate | KW Management, focuses on multifamily and commercial property management.

The six parcels and their price tags, according to Miami-Dade County property records:

  • 1100 Northeast 79th Street, Miami – $3.6 million and a $2.5 million mortgage
  • Corner of Northwest Fifth Avenue and Northwest 36 Street, Miami – Memorandum of agreement to sell from current owner
  • Corner of Southwest Third Avenue and SW 11th Street, Miami – $3.5 million
  • Corner of Southwest 137 Avenue and Southwest Sixth Street, Sweetwater – $1.2 million
  • Northeast 151st Street, North Miami near Biscayne Landing – No record found
  • Southwest 28th Lane off of U.S. 1 – $1.5 million and a $1 million mortgage