I'm looking for any information regarding storage condos. Facilities which house individual storage condo units large enough to house boats, RV's, cars, etc. I'd like to try and find out where the best locations for these faciltiies are (near recreational areas, near affluent communities, or on the way to destination spots). How to price the units, what sizes to build, etc. I know a lot of these facilities cater to boat and RV owners as well as contractors. I see many of these facilities are popping up all over the mid-west and west, but I'm not seeing too many of them being located on the east coast, with the exception of Florida.

Let me know what knowledge you have of these type of facilities.

Thanks,
Matt

Hello Matt,

I recently did a webinar on this very topic with Inside Self Storage. It has been archived on their website Inside Self-Storage - Webinars
Look under past webinars and it should be listed first. I had Ted Deits the owner of the Eucalyptus at Beumont guest speak. He also has an excellent website which is Storagebiz.com - storage biz Resources and Information..
Feel free to contact me directly with any specific questions you may have.
You can reach me at (800) 383-4932

Thank you,

Caesar Wright
President
Mako Steel

__________________
Caesar Wright
President
Mako Steel, Inc.

Thanks for your response Caesar. I did in fact sit in on that seminar and it was quite helpful as it answered the bulk of my questions. I was just looking for me geographically specific information which I suppose is most likely not readily available at this time. I did find it interesting how Ted commented on the fact that the majority of his clients were not local, nor did they reside anywhere remotely near the facility.

I'm trying to figure how to put forth a good guess as to where your client base would come from and what their motivations are to purchase a storage condo. Is it driven by nearby recreational amenities (large bodies of water, large RV campgrounds, etc.) or by demographic makeup of the surrounding area? There's little to no storage condos on the east coast with the exception of Florida. Maybe there's not enough supporting evidence??


-Matt

I am building a self storage in a prime location in Ohio. Next to it I have an option on 4 acres of which I am considering this type of product. A partner might make sense. If interested let me know.

Sure...we may design and build storage condos....but I happen to own one as well. Although mine is in a vacation spot in Northern Michigan, I do not store an RV or boat (unless my brother-in-law happens to put his in it). I needed space to store old furniture. Since purchase, I have added a workroom and stairs to an upper "office" loft. These are great in resort areas--or course--where condos, townhouses, and apartments don't have large garages or basements. In my area businesses use them to store large equipment. And the best part...I will make money when I sell it.

__________________
Dan Wolan
A-Lert Building Systems
dwolan@centurionind.com
www.alertbuildingsystems.com
(248) 961-3112
(800) 210-5375

I don't know that there is a magical location. This one is in Idaho:
In storage condos, a place for gear, play - The Boston Globe The article answers some of your questions on client motivation.

I have also talked to folks in Indiana and Tennessee with plans to build, and if you google "storage condos", you'll find places in Florida, the Southwest, and West. It is reasonable to assume sort of recreational opportunities are close by, but they seem to vary by area - camping, fishing, water sports, etc.

This is a relatively new development in storage and, like all new things, takes a little time to gain traction. If the innovators are proven successful, others will copy them.

No No No...The web address is wrong. Try Eucalyptus at Beaumont

The project mentioned is Eucalyptus at Beaumont in California!!

Matt-

I am the developer of Eucalyptus at Beaumont. I think you have assumed correctly that there is no real supporting evidence or any sort of demographic pattern in place to help you out in your decision. Frankly, it is a crap shoot, at best.

I think you could sum it up in this sentence - "People Must Have a Reason to Buy A Storage Condo". What is the reason in your area? Here in California, there is an EXTREME shortage of RV storage facilities .

I hope this helps you out a bit.

Ted Deits

Thanks for all of the replies.

Ted-

I have been following your construction process through your website. I think you may have quite a homerun on your hands, especially due to the shortage of existing RV storage. I have a few areas in which I think storage condos would work along the east coast (areas located near recreational/tourist spots), but I'm not quite sure if it's a homerun. I see plenty of projects out in the west being built and being sold before completion and some of them are located in remote areas. I'm still trying to get a grasp on the whole idea. Maybe I'll figure it out soon and open up a site within the next two years.

Matt,

I spend my days talking with Storage Condo developers on projects around the US. From what I know, many of these guys will be more than willing to help out as far as what to look for in a good project. Their emails are on our website. So far the successful thread I have seen is second home areas or recreational areas, I would say at least 90% of them seem happy with how the sales are going and plan on doing more of these in the future. Drop me an email if you ever want to chat. I usually add 1-3 new projects on the website a day, so as I acquire more info I will keep it posted here.

Lucas Nelson
www.StorageCondoStore.com
admin@storagecondostore.com