Self-storage firm enters Indy market by acquiring Fishers, Noblesville facilities

A Missouri-based self-storage company has acquired two Hamilton County facilities as it expands into the Indiana market.

StorageMart, which has more than 200 locations, bought the former SOS Self Storage locations in Noblesville and Fishers for an undisclosed price in early December. The sales have not yet been reflected in public records.

The Noblesville location, at 15220 Cumberland Road, is about 5.4 acres. The Fishers facility, at 13111 Marilyn Road, is 4.7 acres. Both feature climate-controlled storage units and boat and RV parking.

The Fishers location has about 350 units, and it’s not clear how many are at the Noblesville facility.

StorageMart has already rebranded the properties and plans to invest an undisclosed amount to improve their lighting, security, and customer service.

This is StorageMart’s first foray into the Indianapolis market, the company said.

“I’m pleased to bring StorageMart to a new market where we can serve our customers with a great mix of unit sizes, unit types, and parking for recreational vehicles—all while maintaining the same standards for excellence our company was founded on,” said Alex Burnam, StorageMart’s director of acquisitions, in a media release.

StorageMart, which started with a single location in Columbia, Missouri, is led by the Burnam family, which has been in the storage industry for four generations.

The company brands itself as the largest privately-owned and family-operated storage company in the world, with locations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

The company has opened or acquired several locations during the pandemic, which industry watchers have seen as healthy for the real estate sector. According to the Commercial Observer, the sector has long relied on what operators and analysts call the four Ds — death, displacement, divorce and disaster — to see it through tough times.

According to Yardi Matrix, which tracks the multifamily housing industry, rents for a 10-by-10-foot storage unit increased nearly 3% in October, compared with the same month a year earlier.