06 Mar 2020
Moving millennials and downsizing baby boomers have led to an explosion of self storage facilities. Almost 1 million square feet of self storage space was built in central Ohio in 2018, the largest increase on record. Builders are looking to empty stores and even a former hotel for space that can be used to store all our stuff.
With baby boomers downsizing and millennials settling into micro-units, what happens to all their stuff?
The answer can be found in hundreds of small, windowless rooms that have been built in central Ohio the past few years.
In central Ohio and beyond, shifting demographics have led to a boom in the self storage industry. Almost 1 million square feet of self storage space was built in the Columbus area in 2018, more than in any previous year, according to the commercial real-estate firm Marcus & Millichap.
In addition, a growing number of self-storage centers are going vertical. One of the most visible examples is on Sinclair Road on the North Side, where U-Haul is converting the former Ramada Inn into a six-story storage center.
“With our acquisition of the former Ramada Inn, we are experimenting with converting some old hotels,” said Dean Haske, president of U-Haul Co. of Ohio.
In a similar vein, Tri-Village Self Storage built a six-level, 684-unit storage center on East Long Street Downtown a few years ago.
“We have people storing heirlooms, art, using them for seasonal closets — any stuff you can imagine,” said Tim Galvin, chief executive officer of Brexton, a Columbus company that builds and operates storage centers under the Tri-Village label.
“The industry is about 50 years old. As far as industries go, it’s relatively young, but it has seen a dramatic maturity in the sophistication and quality of properties over the last 10 to 15 years,” said Tim Dietz, chief executive officer of the industry’s trade group, the Self Storage Association.
Nationally, 50,000 self storage facilities can now be found coast to coast, according to the Self Storage Association. In Ohio, there are 1,724 facilities, more than any state except California, Texas, Florida and North Carolina.
Central Ohio is home to 311 storage facilities, according to Brexton, relying on data from the real estate service Radius.
> “Baby boomers are still the lion’s share of self storage nationally,” Dietz said.
Nationwide, self storage units consume 1.7 billion square feet. In central Ohio, self storage units comprise 11.8 million square feet, or 5.5 square feet per capita, less than the national average of 6.5 square feet, according to Marcus & Millichap.
“Customers are seeking more enhanced services to accompany the storage product,” said Haske, with U-Haul. “Today’s self storage customer isn’t just looking for more — they expect more.”
