Storage Selfies Take Big Step Forward

SSTI has expanded its Ontario holdings, with the announcement it picked up two and a half acres in Toronto in a deal for $3.8M cash. Michael (snapped at the company's HQ in Ladera Ranch, Calif.) tells us the land at 505 and 515 Centennial Rd was purchased to pursue another ground-up self-storage development opportunity (six buildings, 870 units this time), pointing to the prime access from the 401 Expressway and Kingston Road. “We like the visible retail locations with high traffic counts and ease of access along with the surrounding population density and high-income demographics,” Michael tells us when asked about the appeal of the GTA market for them. (Simple formula: people have stuff, stuff needs storin'.)

SSTI is a publicly registered self-storage REIT that currently owns four self-storage properties in Ontario totaling 3,695 units and 411k of net rentable SF. Michael says the company has clusters of sites in certain areas around North America and “plan to continually expand in the Greater Toronto Area." The new facility, once completed, will be branded under the SmartStop Self Storage trade name. Snapped is their 108k SF facility at 600 Granite in Pickering.

So, what does winning a NAIOP Developing Leader Award at the REX Awards do for business? (Does your phone start smoking from how often it's ringing? Are you offered cereal endorsement deals?) We spoke with one of this year's winners: Ashlar Urban partner and broker Jeff Thomas. Snapped with Jeff at the ceremony a few weeks back is Denton Canada LLP's Adrian Frank and Michael Toshakovski and fellow award-winner Jonathan Peretz, AVP at CBRE.

“My team would probably rather it be a more lucrative ‘deal of the year' award,” Jeff says. Alright, he's kidding. But he does acknowledge that winning it isn't bad for personal branding, as he works with the Ashlar team to further build the business. Jeff says he's seeing recent transaction growth on the urban retail front. He and colleague Alan Rawn just brokered the sale of 477 Queen St W, just west of Spadina, in a $13.9M deal. “It's further evidence of the value investors are putting on high-quality urban assets with strong retail tenants,” he says. In this case, a key to the deal he says is the redevelopment of Alexandra Park and the condo infill west of Spadina, south of Queen. In the image is the property, with Urban Outfitters at the base.