By Alex Hassel, Storage.com
A big investment firm out of Dallas is throwing its hat into the self storage market. Crow Holdings Capital – Real Estate (CHC-RE), an asset manager of private equity real estate funds, has announced that it recently begun concentrating on self storage. CHC-RE says its investment strategy will focus on new developments and acquisitions of existing properties.
The firm started as Crow Holdings back in 1998 where it sponsored the first of eight private equity real estate funds. CHC-RE is what became the investment advisor to the remaining funds. Those funds have raised more than $6.25 billion in equity commitments, including around $800 million from the first fund, Crow Family Holdings.
CHC-RE broke into the self storage sector at the beginning of April 2016 when it acquired or provided joint venture development funds for 14 self storage facilities. That portfolio adds up to 9,780 units with 1,087,907 rentable square feet. The firm isn’t sharing where the properties are located, although it will say that they’re spread across the U.S. in primary and large secondary markets with favorable demographics and job growth.
Ben Doherty, Crow Holdings Capital’s Head of Self-Storage Investment Strategies, comments, “We have been following this sector for quite some time and believe the timing is right to focus our investment strategy to include self storage properties. This is particularly true because the sector is less reactive to the typical market swings that have impacted core asset classes during economic cycles.”
Doherty continues, “Moreover, the storage space has strong fundamentals but is a very fragmented asset class with a lack of institutional ownership, thus we are deploying a consolidation strategy of predominantly Class A product. We are excited by the opportunities we have seen in the market thus far and look forward to deploying more capital in this space.”
CHC-RE’s strategy in the self storage sector is to acquire newer properties or create joint ventures to develop Class A storage facilities. The firm says it will look specifically for well-located properties that give opportunities for operational improvements, property expansions, or allow for repurposing of existing buildings and development sites where new products could be introduced.
Seven investment team members manage and direct CHC-RE. Each have worked with the firm and firm-affiliated entities for at least 23 years on average.
Alex Hassel is News Reporter for Storage.com. If you’d like to pitch Alex a self storage industry news story, email alex.hassel@storage.com or call 402-779-7328.
