Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group Sells Access Storage for $5.8 Million

TAMPA, FL – April 2007 – Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group is continuing its winning streak of self-storage facility sales with Access Self Storage in Titusville, Fla. Scott Rutherford, an Investment Associate at Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group in Tampa, navigated the competitive self-storage investment waters to broker the $5.8 million deal this Spring.

“Access Self Storage is strategically located in a growing part of Florida, and this seller offered a property with a strong track record of success,” explained Rutherford, who ranks fifth in the nation in self-storage sales and has played a key role in over $170 million in self-storage sales at the Mele Storage Group. “Beyond the Class A facility status, its healthy occupancy, list of amenities and potential for revenue growth, the future prospects of this facility and this region make for an attractive investment.”

Rutherford listed Access Self Storage for $6.1 million, giving investors a prime opportunity to purchase a Class A facility at a 7.3 percent CAP rate and an 11.3 percent total return on current numbers with new financing. Rutherford found a buyer who was interested in the site because they were building a Class A property not far from Access Self Storage and saw the benefits of economy of scale.

Access Self Storage makes its home in Titusville, a coastal community located directly across from the John F. Kennedy Space Center and about 45 miles east of Orlando. Titusville sits one half mile off State Road 50, a major east west thoroughfare in the state. Adding to its strategic location, Access is also less than one mile to Interstate 95, with 145 feet of frontage. The facility boasted a physical vacancy of only 3 percent with five competitors in the immediate vicinity.

Access Self Storage was originally built in 1999, but expanded in 2006 to keep up with the demand for quality facilities. Like most Florida cities, Titusville’s population is vibrant and growing. Within a five-mile radius, there is a potential customer base of 46,446. The population has increased 6 percent since 2000 and by 2012 is expected to climb from 19,632 to 20,685. Another important metric: nearly 25 percent of the city’s population is renters. With an abundance of white collar workers living in the region, the average household income is $47,632, according to the Space Coast Economic Development Corporation.

Access Self Storage’s property spans 4.21 acres and offered 527 units and 61,153 rentable square feet to the right investor. The property also includes a must-have in Florida’s coastal cities – climate control. Access offers 340 climate controlled units ranging from 25 to 250 square feet, along with its 187 non-climate controlled units. The facility also has a moving truck on site that the seller offered to tenants free of charge during move in.

The property comes with plenty of other advantages and amenities, such as interior and drive-up units, perimeter fencing with gated keypad entry, digital security surveillance cameras, roll-up doors, a hospital-type elevator, 24-hour access and a manager’s office. An especially important attribute in a coastal city, Access offers RV and boat parking. Titusville is only 15 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean, offering its renters easy access to a day at sea.

“Access Self Storage definitely has all the qualities investors look for in a facility,” concluded Rutherford, who has closed 18 deals, reaching over $85 million in sales. “The buyer was a large self-storage developer who could have chosen to build from the ground up, but this deal proves that established, quality facilities in prime locations can find a buyer in any market.”

About The Mele Storage Group
Led by East Coast Self Storage Specialist Michael A. Mele, The Mele Storage Group has sold over 70 self-storage properties totaling over $294 million in sales. Mele has over $117 million in Active and Under Contract listings and a database of approximately 3,200 buyers seeking to expand their self-storage portfolios on the East Coast. Mele closed more than $86 million in self-storage sales in 2006 alone. Each member of the group is a specialist in the fields of financial analysis, market research, contract management and marketing.

About Scott Rutherford
Scott Rutherford is an Investment Associate at the Mele Storage Group who ranks fifth in the nation in self-storage sales. He was the top-producing new agent in the first quarter of 2005 and achieved “Top Five Self Storage Agent” status in 2006. Rutherford has closed 18 deals, reaching over $85 million in sales and has played a key role in over $170 million in total self-storage sales at the Mele Storage Group.

About Marcus & Millichap
With more than 1,100 investment professionals in offices nationwide, Encino, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap is the largest commercial real estate brokerage in the nation focusing exclusively on real estate investments. In 2006, the firm closed more than $22 billion in transactions. Founded in 1971, the firm has perfected a powerful system for marketing properties that combines product specialization; local market expertise; the industry’s most comprehensive research and analysis capabilities; state-of-the-art technology; and established relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors nationally.

PR Contacts:

Self Storage Promotions
Jennifer LeClaire
1913 S. Ocean Drive, Suite 237
Hallandale Beach, Fla. 33009
jennifer@selfstoragepromotions.com
954.454.0072

Mele Storage Group
Darlina Conto
7650 Courtney Campbell Cswy., Suite 920
Tampa, FL 33607
Dconto@marcusmillichap.com
813.287.9777, ext. 187