JV Converts Big-Box Retail to Self Storage

Image by Self Storage via Wikimedia Commons

A partnership between Stoic Equity Partners and 68 Ventures has acquired a vacant 45,020-square-foot building in Fairhope, Ala., with plans of converting the former big-box retail store into a self storage facility.

Located at 100 Ecor Rouge Lane, the space served as a general grocery store and then as an office building before being vacated last year due to work-from-home policies.

The adaptive reuse project will call for $5.3 million of private equity funds. Stoic Equity Partners is working with Crucible Construction to complete the conversion, with the facility expected to go online in February of 2022. 

The property will offer 355 climate-controlled units and will be under StoreEase’s virtual management. Access to the units, security features and manager contact will all be electronic, bypassing the need for personnel at the location.

Making strides

Stoic Equity Partners, which went into business last year during the pandemic, capitalizes on the latest trends in the self storage industry, namely repurposing existing stock and high-tech retrofitting. 

At the beginning of the year, Fortune reported that some 12,200 stores across the U.S. closed in 2020, as e-commerce gained ground during the lockdown. Vacated large industrial and retail spaces created opportunities for self storage and distribution center developers, also rearing up lenders’ interest who see existing facilities as safe investment opportunities.

Stuf, a New York-based startup, successfully applied the repurposing business model to underused spaces in urban cores. The company recently opened two new California locations situated in office building basements.