Storage facilities sell for $25M

TAMPA — Safeguard Self Storage sold three of its self-storage facilities in the Tampa area for $25 million. The price equates to more than $110 per square foot.

The 2,250-unit, 225,569-net-rentable-square-foot portfolio was purchased by W.P. Carey, a publicly traded REIT (NYSE: WPC; recent price: $49.42).

The three properties were located at: 31100 U.S. Highway 19 N., Palm Harbor; 3708 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa; and 2501 22nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg.

Michael A. Mele, with Marcus & Millichap's National Self-Storage Group, represented the seller. Mele says the portfolio garnered nine official offers and went under contract within about 60 days of listing.

“With a current cap rate just north of 6%, this portfolio brings together three strong performers in an equally strong market,” says Mele in a release. “Tampa's self-storage occupancy rates spiked 200 basis points in the second half of this year, and with growth in the metro projected to accelerate to 1.4 percent each year and the jobless rate tightening below 9%, the new investor should see reliable revenue for the foreseeable future.”

According to the release, all three of the properties have highly visible street frontage and offer climate-controlled and nonclimate-controlled storage units. All of the facilities are also equipped with gated electronic access, video surveillance and managers' offices.