(Save the date: RealShare Industrial 2012 comes to The Bankers Club, Miami, December 5 - 6.)

TAMPA, FL—Safeguard Self Storage is selling a three-property Central Florida self-storage portfolio. The 2,250-unit self-storage portfolio is listed at $25 million, or $111 per square foot.

Michael Mele, a first vice president investments and senior director of Marcus & Millichap's National Self-Storage Group in Tampa, is representing Safeguard Self Storage. Safeguard is willing to sell the properties individually or as a portfolio.

“Ordinarily, we would expect an institutional investor to acquire these self-storage properties based on the size and the low cap rate, potentially a REIT,” Mele tells GlobeSt.com. “However, we’ve been doing a lot of deals lately with private money and I wouldn’t rule that out 100 percent.”

The Palm Harbor facility is about 20 miles northwest of Tampa and is 85% occupied. Built in 2001, the self-storage facility includes 83,350 square feet of space and 670 units, 551 of which are climate-controlled. The self-storage facility also offers 79 boat and RV spaces.

“It’s very rare, especially in Tampa, to have three properties for sale at one time,” Mele says. “I’ve been here for 13 years and I can’t remember another portfolio where you could get this much square footage and especially of this quality in this market.”

The Tampa facility is located in the Carrollwood area. Developed in 1999, the 705-unit self-storage facility includes 75,525 square feet of climate-controlled space. Currently 86% occupied, amenities include a facility wide intercom system, individual door alarms, video surveillance, and a management office

The St. Petersburg self-storage property was built in 1987 and renovated in 2006. The 875-unit self-storage facility includes 66,694 square feet of storage space, including 593 climate-controlled units and 10 RV and boat storage units. The property is 78% occupied.

“Self-storage trades have definitely picked up over the last 12 months. We are seeing increased compression of cap rates for well-located institutional quality deals. I don’t see an end to that in the near future,” Mele says. “I don’t see us returning to the frenzy of ‘05 and ‘06. But for the properties that a REIT would buy or companies that wish to be REITs, we are seeing some very competitive cap rates.”