The $31 million price tag for the facilities with a total of 413,513 sf in net, rentable space, represents one of the highest sales prices per sf ever paid in the country for a self-storage portfolio, Charles LeClaire told GlobeSt.com. LeClaire, a senior investment associate at Marcus & Millichap's Denver office, has served as the broker for the deal.

The self-storage facilities all are newly converted multi-story or industrial buildings, in highly visible locations in Chicago such as Lincoln Park, the South Loop and the West Loop, as well as in several suburbs close to Chicago, LeClaire says. Together, the portfolio consists of 4,452 storage units.

Storage USA, a REIT based in Memphis, has purchased five of the Chicago U-Stor It facilities, representing 428,968-sf in gross space and 3,269 units. Public Storage Inc., a REIT based in Glendale, CA., has bought a 68,400-sf facility with 817 units at 6460 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincolnwood, a suburb north of Chicago. Meanwhile, a private investor from Chicago has taken over a 367-unit facility in Rockford, IL.