Self-Storage Market Highlight: California

Ever since the Gold Rush, California has been a state full of opportunities. With the fifth-largest economy in the world, it's no wonder that California has a thriving self-storage industry — benefitting from a huge population, high-income households, and a limited supply of available storage space. From the tops of the redwood forests to the bottom of Death Valley, we've compiled a list of impressive PTI customers we've highlighted over the past year from across the Golden State.

StorQuest Storage - Sacramento

When Wasatch Storage Partners, a real estate development and investment firm that specializes in self-storage, acquired Mack Road Self-Storage in 2019, they called upon the national self-storage management company, The William Warren Group, Inc. 

The William Warren Group, Inc., owns and operates a thriving network of StorQuest Self-Storage facilities. StorQuest Storage offers a modern, innovative self-storage solution to their numerous contemporary self-service and full-service facilities across the United States. With over 80 self-storage properties thriving in the state of California, turning the 7.6 acres of Mack Road Self-Storage lot into a StorQuest Storage facility was the only logical move. 

Because the land was already zoned for self-storage, the building process got underway relatively quickly. For their brand new state-of-the-art facility, the team at StorQuest Self-Storage knew they wanted this location to offer the residents of Southern Sacramento a wide range of storage solutions. 

Most communities throughout Sacramento have restrictions regarding the parking of boats and RVs in streets and driveways, providing an excellent opportunity for StorQuest Storage to fill a need. Going beyond just the traditional climate-controlled indoor units, this StorQuest facility used its 7.6-acre size to its advantage and purposely building-wide driveways and high ceilings to accommodate RV, boat, and auto storage. In order to simplify the process of picking up or dropping off a car, boat, or RV, StorQuest Self-Storage knew they wanted to give tenants a security solution that would not only protect their favorite toys but also provide them with 24/7 gate accessibility. 

Luckily, the Wasatch Storage Partners understood the importance of working with a certified security integrator and called upon a trusted PTI Partner to integrate premium security features. Through the installation of a PTI access control security system, the experts at Capture Technologies were able to implement the highest security standards in the self-storage industry. In addition to 24/7 gate accessibility and EasyCode, the tenant-facing mobile app, the experts at Capture Technologies were also able to implement a Click2Enter feature. The Click2Enter feature acts as a radio-controlled key to open the access control gate to allow fire, police, and medical personnel to open the gate in the event of an emergency. 

Vinebury Wine & Self Storage

​​After nearly six years of wanting to take advantage of the wine self-storage market in Napa Valley, California, Greg Van Cleave’s patience finally paid off when he found a 6.07-acre lot for sale at the corner of Napa Road and 8th Street East. Following the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, Van Cleave hired Jordan Architects to design the project.

While the project started with significant momentum, Van Cleave hit his first obstacle when he submitted the design to the county, where it was discovered that there was a 100-year-old railroad easement on 1.5 acres of land on his newly acquired property. After a lengthy lawsuit that came with a $200,000 price tag and a six-month project delay, Van Cleave was ready to move forward with his project. However, after the lawsuit was settled in October 2017, the Tubbs Fire ravaged Northern California, burning 37,000 acres throughout Napa and Sonoma. After destroying at least 5,200 homes, businesses, and structures throughout the area, construction costs for Van Cleave’s self-storage project nearly doubled, as builders and contractors were in high demand to reconstruct the losses. 

Following the Tubbs Fire, local rains flooded the site, resulting in the California State Water Board demanding that Van Cleave relocate a waterway on his property. During the process of the waterway’s relocation, plants from the waterway bank exposed a series of previously undiscovered wetlands on the property – yet another issue that required mitigation. After relocating the waterway bank and protecting the wetlands on his property, Van Cleave’s contractors then discovered the water table was found to be higher than they initially estimated. The discovery of the water table resulted in the entire site having to be raised by twelve inches. While a foot doesn’t sound like much, it took 550 trucks and trailers loads of dirt to raise the water table to a proper height.  

While it sounds like Van Cleave had already assuaged every problem in the book, there was still one more obstacle to overcome. Since his initial purchase of the property, Van Cleave had admired an enormous oak tree on the property. After an arbor expert estimated the tree to be around 340 years old, Van Cleave learned that protecting the tree would require him to redesign and move the site’s retention basin. Despite the cost and construction delays that would accompany the relocation of the site’s retention pond, Van Cleave felt compelled to save the oak tree. 

In March 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic shut down the site’s construction, as the project wasn’t deemed essential. Once they got the green light to continue building, Van Cleave’s project suffered several more delays from supply chain shortages and workers contracting COVID. In all, the project exceeded Van Cleave’s initial budget by about $8 million. 

However, after nearly three years of setbacks, Vineberg was finally able to begin operations in August 2021. The finished product perfectly encapsulates the romance of the wine country while simultaneously giving customers a secure feel of a modern storage facility complete with a fully integrated PTI access control security system installed by Mid Valley Alarm. Van Cleave opted to offer Vineburg Wine and Storage tenants the highest level of individualized door security in the self-storage industry by installing DoorBoss wireless smart locks throughout. Now a thriving business, Vineburg sits at 39 percent occupied and is set to begin planning a second expansion with the current design team and builders soon. 

Read more about the journey of Vineburg Wine & Self-Storage here

Trojan Storage - Burbank

Trojan Storage started in 2007 when two friends, who were recent graduates of the University of Southern California, decided to invest in self-storage. Fifteen years later, Trojan Storage has grown significantly to now own and manage 25 self-storage facilities in five states throughout the country. While we have 23 immaculate Trojan Storage facilities to choose from in the state of California, the security stands superior at their Burbank location. 

Located just two miles from downtown Burbank, this self-storage operation utilizes the latest technology and advanced security protocols to offer the residents of Los Angeles County a top-notch customer service experience. Trojan Storage surpasses the gold standard for self-storage security from monitored video surveillance and individualized unit-level security. 

In addition to the standard security features, Trojan Storage of Burbank offers tenants 24/7 accessibility through a PTI access control security system, individual door alarms, Trojan Storage goes the extra mile by offering a premium section of units equipped with DoorBoss, PTI’s electronic smart lock. While their tenants receive the highest level of individualized door security in the self-storage industry, DoorBoss is mutually beneficial by allowing the operators at Trojan Storage to perform lock checks remotely and automatically overlocking delinquent tenants from entering the property until their bill is paid in full.