Climate Controlled Storage Feasibility - Teach Me

[William Jenkins]

Looking for a little advice on climate controlled storage from the self storage experts out there.....

I have an old five story freight elevator served 36,000SF warehouse building that I have listed in a large Midwestern city.  The building is located in an old industrial area that is quickly gentrifying due to the development efforts of a nearby major university.

The building is very visible from a major interstate and all of the major arterial roadways (due to height) although it is tucked back into a developing industrial area.  

Admittedly I know nothing about storage, but I have a market study that was done about 1 year ago for climate controlled storage (heated and cooled) and that report made it sound like a solid deal.  Assuming the deal is truly solid as is, I know know how to bring in public development funds to make it a home run.

Tell me about climate controlled self storage....  What does the operation look like, what are the expenses, any major things to look for, etc., etc. 

Just trying to get a feel to see if it should be investigated further.....