Devon Sells Four-Property Self-Storage Portfolio

Charles LeClaire, senior director of Marcus & Millichap's national self-storage group, who is based in M&M's Denver office, was both the listing and the selling agent along with Marc Boorstein of Chicago-based MJ Partners. LeClaire tells GlobeSt.com he is operating "under a strict confidentiality agreement" and cannot disclose the selling price.

In the 2004 Self-Storage Research Report emanating from M&M's Phoenix office, David A. Wetta, national director of the self-storage group, says, "the median sales price of self-storage facilities in the Northeast in 2003 was $48 per sf." The report says the average asking rent for larger units dipped in 2003, but M&M expects owners to regain pricing power this year.

According to the report, average rents for 5x5 units increased by 18.6% to $42 per unit in 2003. During the same timeframe, rental rates for 10x10 units fell 15.4% to an average of $78 a unit, and rents for 10x20 units fell 17.5% to $120 a unit. "Occupancy levels in the (Northeast) region will remain the highest in the nation this year, after increasing 200 basis points in 2003 to 89%," Wetta predicts.

The property at 12005 Roosevelt Blvd. here contains 798 units. It was constructed in 1998 and includes 92,179 sf on 6.6 acres. Rental rate for a 5x5 unit is between $49 and $55 a unit. Rates for 10x10 units range from $119 to $149 a unit. Both rates are significantly higher than the averages in the Northeast, according to the M&M report. However, the report notes, "demand remained high, especially in urban areas."

The Morrisville property at 915 Old Lincoln Hwy. contains 678 units. It was also built in 1998 and includes 84,087 sf on approximately 9.8 acres. The 866-unit Lanham facility at 10101 Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy., also constructed in 1998, includes 117,880 sf on 14.1 acres. The Lawrenceville property at 2870 Brunswick Pike was also built in 1998. It contains 899 units and includes 105,909 sf on 11.7 acres.