From the July issue: Self-storage in New York City has never been considered one of the “major food groups” of commercial real estate. The name itself conjures up images of seemingly endless rows of storage lockers stretching across vast lots located along suburban highways. But due to the city’s lack of supply — 3.52 square feet per person, roughly half the national average, according to CBRE — and growing population, it’s no surprise that the market is considered the holy grail among self-storage developers.
Self-storage companies — many of them real estate investment trusts, such as CubeSmart and Extra Space Storage — have capitalized on the opportunity to cater to the underserved market, and now there is a surge of new facilities coming to the five boroughs. Roughly 2 to 2.5 million square feet of self storage properties are in the pipeline — a 10 percent increase in the existing 20 to 25 million square feet, according to Cushman & Wakefield.