Mele Storage Group Brokers $4 Million Sale of Armor Storage

TAMPA, FL – May 18, 2007 – Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group continues its 2007 sales streak with the closing of Armor Storage. The Mele Storage Group’s Michael Mele brokered the $4 million deal for his client, Tampa Bay-based Watermark Development Group.

“Much of the Florida’s population growth is heading to southwest and central Florida, and the Watermark Development Group is benefiting from its ability to pick the right market at the right time and build a Class A facility with attractive amenities,” said Michael A. Mele, Senior Investment Associate at Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group.

A newly constructed Class-A facility located in Spring Hill, Armor Storage leverages its strategic Central Florida position by offering climate-controlled traditional storage, RV and boat storage. Spring Hill is a growing city in fast-growth Pasco County. Indeed, Pasco County is the 38th fastest growing county in the nation with a population growth of 5.2 percent a year. Spring Hill’s population exceeds 70,000 with a median resident age of 48 and income of $42,000. There are 32,782 households within a five-mile radius and a projected population growth of 15 percent by 2010.

This facility is located along County Line Road, a major thoroughfare in the Tampa Bay area. The site is also strategically situated five miles from U.S. 19, another high-trafficked roadway. Armor Storage benefits from high traffic counts that open the door to ongoing revenue growth at the on-site car wash from storage customers and others who drive by the facility on a daily basis. Armor Storage offers 317 units ranging in size from 5X5 to 25X14 at its 36,335-net-rentable-square-foot facility. This Class A facility is fenced with additional security features that keep the premises safe.

Spring Hill is only 35 miles northwest of Tampa in the heart of Florida’s Nature Coast. RV and boat storage caters to the booming recreational market in the region and, in fact, nationwide. U.S. demand for recreational boating will reach $16.7 billion in 2009, according to market researcher The Freedonia Group. And the number of RV-owning households in the U.S. is expected to rise to nearly 8.5 million by 2010, with “rolling mansions” costing $1 million or more becoming more common, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. As for traditional self-storage, gross revenue for the industry was $18.5 billion in the U.S. alone in 2005, the Self Storage Association reports.

“Watermark has a reputation for building best of breed properties with suitable amenities and Armor Storage certainly fits that description,” said Mele, who is also president of the Florida Self Storage Association. “The buyer was a savvy investor who understood the quality of the facility, as well as its strategic location. These are among the chief ingredients of a profitable self-storage venture.”

The Mele Storage Group is also representing Watermark Development Group on the sale of the Gandy at 4th Street Storage property in Pinellas County’s St. Petersburg. The property is still under construction, but lease up projections are healthy. For more information on the financial terms of the deal, contact Marcus & Millichap’s Mele Storage Group at 813.287.9777.

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 $300 million in sales. Mele has over $125 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 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