@Henry Clark First off I want to say thank you for putting so much time into researching my situation and giving me such a detailed response. It’s been extremely helpful. I’ll answer a couple of things you said and sum up everything.
1. The property is the second of the two bare areas you mentioned. It has a rock road leading to it and I own the area totaling about 48 ft between 2 houses with which I could build a roadway. Setbacks are something I’ll have to call my permit clerk to ask about, I’m not sure how it applies since my property really doesn’t border any roadways except for the entry, I’ll update here when I get that info.
2. The zoning is B-2 which does allow for storage.
3. I’m uncertain if I would require a storm retention pond, but my base assumption is that I would have to have one since the previous owner had plans to build an apartment complex which required him to have a retention pond.
4. My understanding of insurance for storage units is heavily lacking and that’s something that I will be researching now that we’ve talked about it. I haven’t even thought to look into it yet.
So considering all of what I touched on here. I would like to ask, what are the biggest factors that would make you run from this if it was your first self storage project?
Since I’m new to this I’m not sure what concerns you mentioned are unique to this scenario other than location and which ones are issues I’ll have to deal with in any self storage project.
I’ve driven around Westlake to look at what my competition would be and it’s nothing intimidating. The largest self storage complex in Westlake is poorly managed and doesn’t even appear to be in business right now, and the other two both have narrow gravel driveways that don’t allow for easy maneuverability in the complex. I could set myself apart by using concrete and providing enough wide roadways for ease of access and maneuverability. Another way I’ve pondered is having a self service kiosk.
After doing some analysis on the population and comparing it to the current self storage complexes there, I’ve determined that there are about 60 total available storage units in the area which are mostly 10x10 and 10x20. The area that I’m looking to do business in has a population of about 4,800 within a 3 mile radius. This metric would leave a demand for about 230 storage units using 6% of the total population as you mentioned earlier.
And lastly, Hurricane Laura was an unprecedented storm that left my area in shambles. The fallen trees and tarped roofs are not a common occurrence in the area. I also had the privilege of being able to see how the property handles flooding before I closed on it due to the 3rd worst recorded flooding event our area has ever recorded. The property stayed dry with the exception of a couple low spots. The largest portion of my property that I would be building on first actually is raised a few feet and would be the last things in the neighborhood to flood.
Again, thanks for all the insight and time you’ve put into discussing this with me and I look forward to what you have to say.
