LOOK WHO'S TALKING
in communities. “Not everything can be retail or condos,” says Edwards. “There’s a need for supportive uses, and self-storage is a supportive use.”
In other words, modern self-
storage has modern uses that people have begun to embrace in an effort to simplify their lives. More so than ever before, people are relying on self-storage to declutter their hous- es—and not just for temporary stor- age needs such as staging for home sales or renovations—thanks to COV- ID and the minimalist lifestyle craze. Naturally, the demand for storage persists for space-strapped condo- minium and apartment dwellers as well.
Indeed, self-storage has become
a cost-effective alternative to tra- ditional residential options such as purchasing a larger home or building an addition onto an existing home. “We’re at an interesting junction in life,” says Edwards. “People are fig- uring out how they want to live their lives.”
Of course, the current crossroads
that many find themselves contem- plating includes their work lives. Some are pursuing new avenues, including their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Instead of signing long- term leases for expensive offices that they may not frequent, these businesspersons may choose to rent units at innovative self-storage facili- ties that offer conference rooms out- fitted with office equipment. Other self-storage facilities provide office rentals and/or WeWork workspace options to customers.
“People want flexibility,” Edwards
says. “It will be interesting to see how the office world will shake out after COVID.”
Top Plots In addition to flexibility, accessibility
October 2021 “It’s frustrating and time-consum-
ing,” she says. “It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s rewarding in the end.”
Incorporating other uses into fa-
cility designs is one creative way developers are getting green lights for their self-storage projects. As an example, Edwards notes that a retail establishment or coffee shop can be a lucrative “active use” at the grade level. She expects to see more multi- use projects in the future as a means for appeasing cities that desire to uphold walkable downtown areas. This multiuse concept reserves the ground floor for retail or restaurant space and places self-storage on the upper levels of the building, as “peo- ple aren’t accustomed to shopping on the second floor,” says Edwards.
17 Despite the turbulence, new develop-
ment is underway. According to Edwards, there are five to 10 self-storage companies that are “doing a significant amount of new development” in major cities within Cana- da. She lists the top development-focused companies as Bluebird Self Storage, Vaultra Storage, Maple Leaf Self Storage, and Dy- mon Self Storage. “These are sophisticated groups building sophisticated facilities.”
Even though those operators have found
success, Edwards urges developers to pro- ceed with caution. “There are developers building huge facilities to make it work,” she says, “even in oversupplied areas.”
With plenty of people “jumping on the
self-storage bandwagon,” it’s imperative to remember the fundamentals that make self-storage a successful venture.
“You have to put the time in to get
a good site,” Edwards says, adding that the time investment pays off in the long term.
She goes on to say that self-storage
developers must be nimble and inno- vative—among other things—to make it to the metaphoric finish line.
has become a priority for self-storage customers. “People want easy access to it,” says Edwards, who mentions that self-storage is no longer re- served to industrial areas. Similar to lumber companies and home building companies like Home Depot, which wanted to move from industrial to retail areas years ago, “self-storage is doing that now.”
Even so, developing on a main-
street location isn’t an effortless—or short—process. As a matter of fact, she points out that it can take ap- proximately three years nowadays to receive a zoning amendment and all the necessary approvals. Then there is an additional 12 months or more for construction.
Development Details As Edwards mentions, great development sites are hard to come by. Buildable land is both scarce and costly, especially in pre- mium urban locations. “Land costs have gone up,” she says, adding that the going rate is approximately $3 million per acre for industrial land in Toronto.
And that chilling rate is just the tip of
the iceberg. When the corresponding de- velopment charges of $40 (or more) per buildable square foot are counted, a single acre in Toronto is costing a cool $6 million upfront, which may be enough to sink your self-storage plan before it even leaves the drawing board.
Once the increasing costs of building
materials are considered, it may be chal- lenging to construct a profitable project. “Costs are up about 30 percent,” says Ed- wards, who cites availability as another on- going challenge.
“It’s hard to get materials.” With trans-
portation issues plaguing North America, and many Canadian self-storage projects ordering roll-up doors from the United States, it’s no surprise that both delivery charges and timelines are increasing.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
