University Parkway Value Self Storage sells for $5.8 million

UNIVERSITY PARKWAY -- Hedging that it's still a good bet that people own more stuff than they can store at home, a New York buyer has invested millions of dollars in a storage facility bordering Palm Aire and the Sarasota County line.

Sarasota-based Rutledge Realty and Development Company, under the name Value Self Storage at University Square, sold the storage facility to a subsidiary of real estate investment trust W.P. Carey for $5.8 million. Manatee County property records show that the 63,000-square-foot building is on 2.9 acres at 3283 University Parkway, close to a PNC Bank, Applebee's and Advance Auto Parts on University Parkway.

Value Self Storage, which has other locations in Palmetto and Port Charlotte, offers small, medium and large storage units, as well as RV and boat storage.

According to Manatee County Property Appraiser's office records, the June 16 sale is the first for the facility since it was built in 2001.

W.P. Carey states that its "enterprise value" was $11.2 billion at the end of March,, according to its website. The company is involved in long-term sale-leasebacks and "build-to-suit financing solutions for companies worldwide."

W.P. Carey-related companies own more than a dozen storage buildings in Naples, Tallahassee, Miami and other Florida cities. W.P. Carey began investing in storage properties in 2004 and will continue to operate the lo

cation on University Parkway as a self-storage business, company spokesman Guy Lawrence said.

Representatives for Rutledge could not be reached for comment by end of day Tuesday.

REIT purchases of self-storage properties locally are not uncommon. In January, Extra Space Storage, a Utah-based REIT, bought a 49,000-square-foot storage facility on Cortez Road for $5.1 million. Another self-storage facility, Kangaroo Self Storage at 5717 14th St W., sold last August for $2.48 million to a California company.

- Herald business reporter Matt Johnson contributed to this story.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "University Parkway Value Self Storage sells for $5.8 million ."