Alberta's Self-Storage Needs Driving Investment

Calgary and other cities in Alberta are seeing growth in population and density. This is making the Canadian self-storage market feel at home in the province. Helen Pike from CBC is the writer of the article and the image credit comes from her as well.

There are more self-storage facilities in Calgary and across Alberta than before. It's not just in your head.

There are many reasons for it, but demand is the main one. People don't want to or cannot get rid of their things.

The Store & Go is located in the Beltline on 1216 10th Ave. S.W. It's near the West End of Downtown. The building used to be a cheque-cashing facility. Strategic Group changed it into a self-storage place in 2017. The community uses it frequently now.

Ken Toews is the senior vice-president of development at Strategic Group. He says that it is a busy place. When you look around, you can see why. There are a lot of tall buildings nearby.

Nowadays, people are living in tinier living areas. They opt for more compact homes. This trend has been growing for a while. People are choosing to live in smaller homes to minimize living expenses. They embrace the minimalistic lifestyle. It has become popular in recent years. Thus, homes with more functionality and identical gadgets are replacing larger homes.

Toews said that either the storage facility is completely leased out or almost completely leased out. He thinks this is good for his company, but it also means that there is a high demand for storage in the area. This demand will increase as more apartments are built in the city centre.

Lots of different types of people use storage units. It's not just for people with stuff they don't use at home. Contractors put their tools in storage and pick them up every day. Other businesses use storage too.

This place is easy to reach and helps people in the inner city. Toews thinks there will be more of these in Calgary. The city is getting more crowded, especially in the downtown area. Some offices are turning into homes.

Gian-Carlo Carra knows about the need to move into a condo because he did it himself. He used to live in a single-family home. He is a counsellor.

You might have a storage room in your condo, but sometimes you don't. If you're renting or in transition, you might need storage. Estate sales or inheriting items can also lead to needing storage. People have a lot of stuff. We are living in walkable areas more and more, which means less space for our car and more need for storage. Self-storage needs to adapt to these changes.

Calgary's planning and development office gets lots of self-storage construction requests each year, but 2021 is different. The office received way more requests this year - 46! That's double what they saw in 2020 and will see in 2022.

Lisa Khan, leader of the Land Use Bylaw department, said storage facilities are important for daily life. People choose different types of homes and storage can help. Businesses can open storage shops outside of traditional areas if the market demands it. It's good to have storage closer to where people live.

Carra thinks we need to make self-storage facilities fit into the community. We can do this by making loading bays in alleyways, combining storage with other businesses, like car rental places or registries, and keeping the area with businesses at the ground level lively.

He said they will manage the stuff differently when the city changes. This has been planned for several years.

Jason Koonin, CEO of Bluebird Storage Management, said the company used to be only in Toronto. Now, they have 10 stores in Alberta and are waiting to build 10 more.

A company in Toronto is changing its focus to new markets. They are no longer focusing on their old ones. It is not clear what their new markets will be, but they are making the shift. This is a common practice for companies as they try to stay ahead of the competition. The company is hoping that by focusing on new markets, they will be able to grow their business and increase their profits. It will be interesting to see what markets they choose to target.

Koonin mentioned there's lots of home building happening in Calgary. The existing buildings aren't the newest and don't offer great amenities. The area is pretty occupied with over 80 or 90 per cent occupancy.

Koonin said Canada's self-storage market is behind the U.S. by 20 years. The U.S. has nine square feet of supply per person, while Canada only has three.

The self-storage market has caught the interest of investors because of the pandemic. Online shopping has affected physical retail stores and office needs, causing people to switch their attention. As a result, some investors are considering where to invest their money.

Koonin said that 12 to 18 months ago, they only received one or two inquiries a month about building or investing in self-storage. But now, they are getting one inquiry every day on their website for investment and development in self-storage.

The self-storage industry in the US is tough. It can survive any crisis. Clive Bradley, who heads the self-storage appraisal and advisory unit at CBRE Canada, agrees that this industry is strong in Canada.

Bradley said that self-storage market has demand drivers regardless of good or bad times. Self-storage investments are affected by recessionary conditions, but not as negatively as other real estate classes.

Calgary wants more power after the pandemic. They prefer a stronger government. The pandemic has made them realize the importance of a powerful government. It can help them handle emergencies better. They want their leaders to be more effective. They believe a strong government can take necessary actions faster. Calgary citizens want a better future for their city.

More storage facilities were being built due to the pandemic. This has slowed down because the market is being careful and interest rates are increasing.

People in Calgary are using self-storage more now because of COVID. Calgary now has more demand for self-storage.

Bradley said that five years ago, Calgary suffered storage problems due to oil prices. However, it bounced back well. Now there is high demand in the city.