Site in the Spotlight - 2009

Owner:	Moove In Partners, North George LP
Manager:	Linda Reigert
Location:	York, PA
Specs:	38,950 sq ft (phase 1) 325 rentable units
Color:	Classic Beige and Cedar Red doors/trim

For this issue’s site in the spotlight, we are interviewing John Gilliland of Moove In Partners. Investment Real Estate Construction, headed by Rod Lockard, served as General Contractor. The buildings, including the office built of conventional materials, were erected by Brecknock Builders of Denver, PA.

How long have you been in the self-storage industry?

Since 1997.

What profession did you hold before entering self-storage?

I worked for a commercial real estate brokerage, dealing with all types of investment properties. Now all we broker is self-storage.

What sparked your interest in self-storage?

As a broker I listed and sold, within a week, two self-storage properties. When I looked at the numbers I thought "Wow, this is an incredible investment opportunity." So I bought land and built my first facility. In less than a year, I had quit working for someone else and started my own brokerage specializing in self-storage.

How did you choose Trachte as your building supplier?

I found Trachte back in 1997 while researching the industry. We were looking to build a two story into a hill, and we felt Trachte had the best design for this type of building. Greg Harvey and Jamie Lindau have been excellent to work with. Aside from the great design, Trachte provided all the documents and drawings that we needed to get through the approval process at the township level. That's a huge benefit that Trachte offers.

What are the architectural features of your site?

Our offices are designed to go along with our cow theme. We actually designed our offices to look like a barn, carrying the agricultural theme inside by using the appropriate style lighting fixtures and finishes. The current buildings are all two story into a hill. We used a fieldstone facing on the exposed concrete walls, which really dressed it up. The roofs are all standing seam. We offer climate control in about 25-35% of our space. As we add to this and a new site, we'll utilize standard single story buildings.

What gives your site a competitive advantage?

I think we're the best run facility, with great customer service and great managers. Our manager Linda (she was our manager of the year in 2007) knows her tenants, and the great service has earned us many referrals. When we first opened, she rented out 99 units in 100 days! Additionally, we have a great high traffic location close to many homes, which gives us an advantage over our competitors. The site has all the latest security features, including access control with keypad gates and a 20 camera surveillance system.

Who is your target market?

We're located on a main north-south corridor in the region with easy access to the freeway, so we are very popular with commercial renters, sales reps, etc. We attract local residents from about a three mile range. Our business is about 70% residential.

How do you market your facility?

Our biggest marketing technique is the building itself. Our land extends to the road, but there's a creek separating them. So we designed our buildings and landscaping to have highly visible doors from both directions. We also do yellow pages and Internet - over 20% of our business now comes through the Internet. We use a call service, Phonesmart, which allows us to offer 6 am to midnight call service. It's amazing how many leases we get at 10 pm on a Saturday night.