Los Angeles' development boom has hit Compton. Westport Properties has acquired a land site in the market to develop a self-storage facility. In addition to the development of the self-storage facility, the developer is also making a significant investment in the community by building a pocket park and an adjacent sports field for little league. Construction on the 1,390-unit self-storage facility will being next year, and the property will deliver in 2019.

“There is a lot of different product types that are able and willing to pay high prices for properties. It was very difficult to find a site that worked for us,” Charles Byerly, president and CEO of Westport Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. “There is a lot of competition in Compton, as well as the surrounding markets. This market is becoming very difficult to get into.”

With the competition in the market, the infrastructure investment helped to gain community support for the development. The investment includes Parmalee Pocket Park with new landscaping, pedestrian pathways and seating and a donation to the Compton Little League team. “We like to get involved in the community. It is a good partnership, and it helped alleviate some concerns about what self-storage facilities bring to a community,” says Byerly. Historically some of those have been negative, and we like to bring a positive up-front spin. We want people to know that we are there as part of the community. In this case, we asked what we could do to help out the community, and these were the things that the city suggested that would bring community awareness and pride to the immediate area. We were happy to do that.”