Self-Storage Gets a Facelift

Warehouse units for private use get pricier as influx of retirees shows no slowdown.PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL—Developers of self-storage properties are enjoying their best year ever. More than 350 facilities have popped up in the three-county South Florida area in the past five years, according to the South Florida Self-Storage Association.

Not only are more projects in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties air-conditioned, many now look like office buildings. For example, the Store Room, an unusually ambitious new venture in West Palm Beach, is a five-story, 188,000-sf structure valued at $6 million. When it opens in August, the Store Room will contain 1,160 air-conditioned storage units, plus 4,000 sf of custom space to store wines in cave-like cool conditions of 55 to 59 degrees. The smallest space, 25 sf, will rent for $45 per month.