Fort Myers couple buys, operates Storage Unlimited

BUYER: Storage Unlimited LLC (principals: Karina and Robert Leisure), Fort Myers
SELLER: Chitwood Mini Storage LLC
PROPERTY: 11591 Chitwood Drive, Fort Myers
PRICE: $1.25 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.48 million, October 2006
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Madden Law Firm LLC, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Robert and Karina Leisure purchased the 19,640-square-foot Storage Unlimited self-storage facility for $1.25 million.

The price equated to $64 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for warehouse space ($50) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

According to Robert Leisure, the couple has leased and operated the 5.12-acre facility for a year and a half and decided to exercise an option to buy it.

“We were able to change the way the business was run,” he says. “There's a lot of storage competition, so we took a very family approach to operations. We allow people to wash down their boats. If someone needs to change the bearing in their car, they can or if they need air we provide that. We tell people you can think of it almost like it's your own garage.”

The more personal/flexible approach has already showed dividends, he says. The facility has gone from a 30% occupancy to almost 90%.

The property features about 5,000 square feet of air-conditioned space. It was built in 1977.

The buyer mortgaged the property to Parke Bank for $1 million and to James McMenamy and Dennis Fogerty for $200,000.