Intercontinental, LaTerra Buy Self-Storage in Santa Clarita

Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation is breaking into a new market sector.

The Boston-based real estate investment firm, in a joint venture with Marina del Rey-based LaTerra Development, acquired EZ Access Self Storage in Santa Clarita, Multi-Housing News reported. The 784-unit facility at 23715 Carl Court sold from a private seller in a $27 million off-market deal.

The transaction marks Intercontinental’s first foray into the self-storage sector. The property consists of nine single-story buildings and a separate office and residential unit for on-site management, in total spanning 100,000 square feet on a 4.2-acre site. The facility was completed in 1999 and boasts drive-up access for 222 of the 784 units.

Intercontinental and LaTerra plan to breathe new life into the property with a capital improvement program including upgrades to the management office, hallway lighting, entry security and on-site landscaping.

The former EZ Access property will be rebranded as a Public Storage, which has been tapped as the management company to oversee day-to-day operations on the site. It will be one of eight Public Storage facilities within a 3-mile radius, according to Multi-Housing News, citing Yardi Matrix data.

In total, residents will have more than 15 square feet of rentable space per capita. In the Los Angeles metro, self-storage space is at 5 square feet per capita, below the national average of between 10 and 13 square feet per capita.

“The market is significantly under-supplied,” Bryan Miranda, managing director of self-storage at LaTerra, said in a statement, per the Boston Real Estate Times. He noted that self-storage has “outperformed all real estate asset classes over the past 25 years.”

As of July, there were 3,043 storage properties in all stages of development across the United States, according to Yardi Matrix’s report. In Los Angeles, annualized average rent in the self-storage sector was $30.37 per square foot — nearly double the national average of $16.91.

— Chris Malone Méndez