California REIT to Acquire $371M Worth of Assets from Mindful Storage

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Ladera Ranch, Calif.–Strategic Storage Trust II, a public, non-traded REIT which is sponsored by SmartStop Asset Management LLC, has agreed to acquire a 27-property self-storage portfolio from Mindful Storage. The total value of the transaction amounts to $371 million, Inside Self-Storage reported based on a March 25 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Security Self Storage, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.

The portfolio comprises 22 properties in three states, offering a total of more than 1.5 million square feet. Ten facilities are located in Florida, 11 in North Carolina (eight of which are in Asheville) and one in Maryland. The transaction also includes land parcels adjacent to four of the properties and one redevelopment site in North Carolina.

According to the filing, the deal will be executed through 12 purchase-and-sale agreements with unaffiliated third parties. Strategic Storage Trust II structured the transaction through a subsidiary of Strategic Storage Operating Partnership II LP, the REIT’s operating partnership. The purchase price for the 22 self-storage facilities is about $367 million, while the separate parcels of land will be acquired for approximately $3.6 million. Strategic Storage Trust II expects to close on the entire portfolio during this year’s second or third quarter.

The Mindful Storage portfolio operates under several brands including Abby Self Storage, Cypress Self Storage, Fullerton Self Storage, George’s Stor-Mor, Security Self Storage, Storage Center and Stowaway. Mindful Storage is a division of the Mindful Group, a Florida-based real estate company focused on acquisitions, development and property management.

The expansion will substantially increase the California-based REIT’s presence in Florida and North Carolina. According to its website, SST II currently owns two self-storage facilities in Florida totaling 124,900 net rentable square feet and three in North Carolina comprising 159,600 square feet. Earlier this year, SST II also expanded to Canada, with the purchase of three properties in the Greater Toronto Area. The REIT’s current portfolio includes 23,880 self-storage units and approximately 2.6 million rentable square feet of storage space.

SmartStop Asset Management manages 61 self-storage facilities comprising 4.2 million rentable square feet in Canada and the U.S. The company also sponsors Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc., another public, non-traded REIT focused on self-storage assets.

Image courtesy of Mindful Storage