Nuveen Real Estate, the investment manager of TIAA, has closed a separately managed account for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) to invest in self-storage assets across the United States. The strategic collaboration includes a $150 million initial equity commitment from CalSTRS and a 10% equity commitment equaling $16.6 million from the TIAA General Account.
The collaborative effort will focus on acquiring and developing self-storage assets in markets with strong demographic trends, low supply forecasts and limited institutional ownership. Nuveen said the transactions will span the risk spectrum as it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through portfolio aggregation, implementing institutional-quality management and strategic asset expansion.
Serving as the dedicated operating partner and property manager for the account will be MyPlace Self-Storage, a vertically integrated self-storage company founded by industry veteran Kurt O’Brien. During his 30 years in the self-storage business, O’Brien has developed two of the largest self-storage platforms in the United States and managed $7 billion in total transactions.
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“We are excited to start and scale this new venture with CalSTRS,” said Nuveen portfolio manager Melissa Reagen. “Self-storage has proven to be a resilient asset class with strong fundamentals. Typically driven by life cycle events – such as getting married, moving homes, and having children – demand is consistent through economic cycles.”
Investors in search of steady cash flow and assets that perform well under various market conditions have been turning to self-storage facilities. In 2024, they altogether $3 billion into new acquisitions encompassing 822 properties containing more than 51 million square feet, according to a report from StorageCafe.
A separate StorageCafe analysis found that the West leads the nation in self-storage interest, with 59 metros ranking among the top 100 hot spots, followed by the South with 26 metros in the top 100. The Midwest has 13 in the top 100, with the Northeast owning three. Interest in self-storage assets comes at a time when development activity has continued to slow and is expected to drop to 2% of inventory by 2027 and to 1.5% through 2030, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest self-storage report and forecast.
Nuveen has been a player in the self-storage space for more than 20 years and currently manages $2.7 billion in self-storage assets across more than 170 facilities nationwide.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
