Hawthorne Property

LADERA RANCH, CA-Non-traded REIT Strategic Storage Trust Inc. has acquired two facilities totaling 1,600 units in Long Beach and Hawthorne in Los Angeles County for $26 million in an all-cash transaction and plans to rebrand them under its SmartStop Self Storage name. The Long Beach property is at 8150 E. Wardlow Rd. and comprises approximately 87,000 rentable square feet with 830 units on 3.7 acres. Built in 1999, it consists of four buildings, one of which is two stories. The Hawthorne property is at 12714 S. La Cienega Blvd. and comprises 87,000 rentable square feet with 770 units on approximately 1.7 acres.

Wayne Johnson, senior vice president of acquisitions for SSTI, notes that the Hawthorne site "stands out due to its close proximity to the 405 Freeway, a dense surrounding population, newer construction and a great location between LAX and Manhattan Beach.”

Long Beach Facility

Although the properties were never put on the open market, there was competition from several other potential buyers, said Dean Keller of Bancap Self Storage Group Inc., who brokered the transaction for SSTI. “This deal could have easily fallen apart if Strategic hadn’t been such a strong and qualified buyer,” Keller said. “The seller had turned down many compelling offers on these first-class properties," but selected Strategic based on its track record, financial strength and ability to perform, he said.

Since the launch of SSTI two and a half years ago, its portfolio of wholly owned properties has expanded to include 43 facilities in 15 states (Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and Toronto-Ontario, Canada. Its portfolio includes approximately 30,000 self-storage units and 3.8 million rentable square feet of storage space.