Storage Selfies Take Big Step Forward

The Greater Toronto Area self-storage market once described as "under-developed" by Strategic Storage Trust CEO Michael Schwartz just took another major step in the other direction. (Labels only stick if you let them, that's an important lesson for middle-schoolers and submarkets.)

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.