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By Marty Finley – Reporter, Louisville Business First
May 15, 2018, 11:50am EDT Updated May 16, 2018, 3:31pm
The owner of Shelbyville Road Plaza and Middletown Station already has proven that it can produce in the retail and multifamily sectors.
So now the company is diving into a new challenge: The expanding self-storage industry.
Louisville-based Hagan Properties Inc. proposed the construction of a 130,000-square-foot self-storage facility on five acres at 2801 Chamberlain Lane and 3014 N. Winchester Acres Road, said Tommy Edwards, a retail and self-storage developer with Hagan Properties. The properties, next to Ford Motor Co.'s Kentucky Truck Plant, are owned by Huong X. Pham and Johannes W. Appelboom, according to Jefferson County property records.
Edwards said Tuesday that Hagan has the two properties under contract and hopes to start construction by the end of the year or early 2019 and to be open by mid-2019. The self-storage development will be housed in multiple buildings and will be anchored by a multi-story, climate-controlled facility. Hagan has not finalized the number of buildings or units.
But Edwards said the facility will house individual drive-up units as well as covered parking for boats and RVs. Hagan has estimated the cost at $8 million, with design being led by Green Design architects of Okeechobee, Fla.
Green Design specializes in self-storage design and completes more than 150 projects of this type annually, Edwards said.
To separate itself from the pack, Hagan plans to use high-end building materials, upscale LED lighting and a state-of-the-art security system to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere for clients, Edwards said, noting that some self-storage units do not seem safe after dark.
“They don’t have the sexy curb appeal, and that’s what we’re trying to change,” he said.
Edwards said Hagan is pursuing this project because the firm feels it would complement its existing multifamily properties and is a way for the company to diversify. As I , Hagan has started construction of a 470-unit apartment complex called Victory Knoll near Southeast Christian Church, estimated to cost $64 million.
Hagan Properties also built the 356-unit 9910 Sawyer Apartments, a sprawling upscale apartment complex that backs up to E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park.
“Self storage is a growing asset class, and we feel we can compete very well in it,” Edwards said. “Our goal is always to be the category leader in each asset class.”
Hagan will be the sole owner of the new complex, but the firm has tapped Salt Lake City-based Inc. as the leasing agent and property manager. Extra Space Storage NYSE: EXR) is one of the largest self-storage providers in the country, with nearly 1,500 facilities.
“Extra Space’s brand and operating platform combined with Hagan’s extensive development experience will provide a superior product and level of service to the people of Louisville,” Dylan Taylor, manager of third party management for Extra Space Storage, said in a statement.
A general contractor has not been chosen.
Louisville’s self-storage industry has been expanding in lockstep with the growth of new apartments. Self-storage units are popping up across the city, and we are starting to see more facilities of this type on the East End. For instance, Citadel Storage Partners I L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, is with about 145,000 square feet at 1403 Browns Lane that will have nearly 1,000 storage units. That complex is slated to open later this year.
And Kinetic Properties Inc. recently of 80,000 square feet of storage space in the nearly 250,000-square-foot Distillery Commons at Lexington Road and Payne Street into climate-controlled self-storage units.