The List:

In 2007, I had a hand in the design, entitlement, and construction of a ground breaking climate-controlled self-storage facility in Brookfield, WI. With the help of my client and the faith my old firm had in me, we took a challenging site in a municipality that had not interest in self-storage, and got the City to unanimously approve the project for several key reasons… exceptional design, continual communication, and patience.

Using cutting edge material solutions that met the Cities strict design criteria, which lead to lower construction costs, the beginning of a template for entitling beautiful and affordable self-storage projects in some of the toughest municipalities across the United States began to take shape.

Special recognition to Anderson Ashton Design/Build (AADB) for being the design/build general contractor on the majority of these projects, and to design|Manage|advise (dMa) for continuing with the continued development of the template.

The List:

Designed, Built, or added onto:

• Self Storage of Goerkes Corner - Town of Brookfield, WI AADB

• The Vault - Waukesha, WI AADB

• The Vault - Menomonee Falls, WI AADB

• Life Storage - St Paul, Ave. - Milwaukee, WI AADB

• Life Storage - Mequon, WI AADB

• Life Storage - New Lenox, IL AADB

• Extra Space - Former Pabst Warehouse - Milwaukee, WI AADB

• Extra Space - Franklin, WI AADB

• Extra Space - Curtis St. - West Allis, WI AADB

• Extra Space - Cleveland Ave. - West Allis, WI AADB

• Extra Space - West Bend, WI AADB

• Silver Spring Self Storage - Milwaukee, WI AADB

• ClearHome Self Storage - Port Washington, WI AADB

• ClearHome Self Storage - New Berlin, WI AADB

• Cube Smart Self Storage - Delavan, WI AADB

• Cube Smart Self Storage - Oak Creek, WI AADB

• Prime Storage - Appleton, WI AADB

Designed but not built:

• Self Storage of Wisconsin - Franklin, WI AADB

• State Street Storage - Wauwatosa, WI AADB

• Life Storage - Elm Grove, WI AADB

• Sun Prairie Self Storage - Sun Prairie, WI AADB

• Superior Storage - Kenosha, WI AADB

• Superior Storage - Town of Middleton, WI dMa

• Superior Storage - Rogers, AR dMa

• Superior Storage - Bentonville, AR dMa

• Superior Storage - Brunswick, GA dMa

• Superior Storage - Port St. Lucie, FL dMa

Current Projects:

• MCP Self Storage - Milwaukee, WI dMa

• Oshkosh RV/Boat Storage - Oshkosh, WI F|C

• Oak Creek Self-Storage - Oak Creek, WI F|C

• Cube Smart Self Storage (Phase 2) - Delavan, WI F|C

Is Photography Dead

This is a rhetorical question because clearly photography is not dead, but I am struck by the fact that as the quality of picture coming from a cell phone camera improves, the way of the old 35mm SLR with expensive high speed Kodachrome film interchangeable lenses is diminishing.

I started looking through the camera roll on my phone and was amazed at the shear volume of uselessness pictures there, and I bet I am not alone.

Gone seem to be the day’s when one might blow-up a particularly exquisite snap, frame it, and hang it on a wall.

While I notice many posting photos of the great outdoors to social media, they, like myself, are just snapping what their eye sees, and sharing that memory. Did they really take the time to compose the shot, did they consider the direction of the sun and the light angles that creates, did they consider framing the shot… did they think to clean the lens on their phone before taking the shot?

Back when film was a real expense, one did not waste a photo, and they made damn sure their lens was not covered in finger prints and pants pocket lint.

I for one will being to pay attention to the subject of my choosing when taking a picture on my phone, and perhaps I just might blow-up a picture or two, frame it, and hang it on the wall.

Will Storage Ever Slow

For over 15 years, in one fashion or another, I have been involved in the development of nearly two-million square feet of self-storage facilities, all over the US. In that time, folks smarter than me regarding self-storage, often suggested the self-storage development wave had crested. Yet year-over-year the self-storage title wave keeps growing larger.

The latest buzz I am hearing goes something like, “inflation and interest rates will necessarily cause a rise in vacancies and that future self-storage development will slow down… the wave has finally crested.

Is this really the case?

Anecdotally, I am not seeing this play-out to the level some are suggesting as I have several developers eager to get projects entitled in 2023. Perhaps they are overlooking some obvious warning signs as there have been many false alarms regarding the retraction of self-storage development that never panned out.

Time will tell as it always’ does, but if a horse keeps winning, why bet against it?