Investors in self-storage are increasingly pivoting away from new ground-up developments to adaptive reuse of existing facilities in core urban areas. According to a recent report from StorageCafe, soaring development costs and strict zoning regulations have prompted a surge in repurposing retail and industrial sites for self-storage projects in recent years.

The report found that adaptive reuse accounts for 191 million square feet of self-storage space in the U.S.—approximately 9% of the total inventory—spread across 2,300 facilities. Over half of these conversions have taken place in the past decade, StorageCafe found, which underscores the market's desire to meet consumer needs in bustling urban locales.

Maria Gatea, the author of the report, said that about 96% of the converted space originated from former retail (16%) and industrial (78%) properties. From 2014 to 2023, the total square footage repurposed for self-storage reached 106 million square feet, surpassing the 85 million square feet converted from 1964 to 2013.