When it comes to converting real estate into self-storage facilities, L.A. leads the way.
Los Angeles is one of the top markets in the country for redeveloping properties into self-storage, L.A. Business First reported, citing new data from StorageCafe. In the past decade, the city has seen 1.4 million square feet of real estate repurposed into self-storage space.
The city ranks eighth in the country when it comes to the most self-storage space converted from other uses; Chicago tops the chart with nearly 4.4 million square feet over the past decade. Los Angeles is expected to add more than 226,000 square feet of new self-storage space through adaptive reuse, making up 60 percent of the current under-construction storage space in the city. That puts L.A. in second place when it comes to under-construction storage conversions behind Irving, Texas.
A majority of the converted space is in buildings that were once offices. Those office-to-storage projects make up 57 percent of the total conversion inventory in the city with more than 806,000 square feet. Industrial properties are the second-most popular conversion type with more than 529,000 square feet being turned into self-storage.
Despite being one of the country’s top markets for self-storage conversions, Los Angeles is still considered undersupplied, according to StorageCafe. Los Angeles and New York City each have 2.1 square feet of storage space per person — the lowest ratio among the top 10 markets. Philadelphia and St. Paul, Minnesota, have 3.3 square feet per person, and Chicago boasts 3.5 square feet per person.
All of Los Angeles’ self-storage conversion projects are located in federally designated Opportunity Zone areas, signifying the focus on revitalizing underutilized neighborhoods.
“Los Angeles stands out as a prime example of an undersupplied urban market where self-storage conversions offer a practical, community-oriented solution… by repurposing underperforming commercial buildings,” StorageCafe said in a statement, per L.A. Business First.
Last month, the Los Angeles City Council voted to expand the citywide adaptive reuse ordinance beyond high-density hubs in an effort to reach its housing goals, making it easier for developers to convert vacant offices into residences.
Read more
Commercial
Los Angeles
LA expands adaptive reuse ordinance beyond high-density hubs
Residential
San Francisco
LA, Bay Area well positioned with Opportunity Zone 2.0 program