Storage-Mart’s mammoth Leaside facility is more than just the biggest walk-in closet in Canada for people’s stuff — it’s a testament to the times.

The condo boom, downsizing, divorce, death and changing tastes have all contributed to a doubling in self-storage across Canada over the last decade — and a virtual explosion across the United States — as more folks find themselves space-challenged but unable to part with even the tarnished trophies of their lives.

Renovations, remodelling and even the constant comings and goings of grown children have all meant that old furniture, boxes of china and camping equipment have had to find safe homes away from home, under 24-hour accessible lock and key, in Storage-Mart’s 122,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Canadian facility at Laird and Eglinton.

Surprisingly, some 20 to 30 per cent of its lockers are also, in essence, small business incubators — places where plumbers and store owners can park their tools and supplies when needed, or until it makes sense to take long-term leases on bigger industrial space.

“Of course, there is no living on-site. It’s forbidden in the lease,” says Storage-Mart regional manager Alex Dubinsky with a chuckle. “We’ve caught our fair share of people trying to get away with that.

“But everything is monitored. If we see suspicious activity or people punching in codes at random times, we get on top of it very quickly.”

Price is dependent on location — the $270 a month for a climate-controlled 10 by 10 foot unit in Leaside drops to $156 a month at Kennedy and Steeles.

Self storage is often mocked as a strange, dark world, thanks to realty shows like Storage Wars and the exploits of people like Cleveland, Tennessee police chief Wes Snyder, who was forced to resign after being caught having an affair in a locker turned love nest.

But it is a booming, if misunderstood, business.

What started out back in the 1960s, as unheated “chicken coops” on city outskirts or in farmers’ fields are now moving closer to the core in a huge climate-controlled way. Land prices mean they now make more financial sense at four and five storeys in booming areas like Laird and Eastern Ave. just east of the Leslie St., just like the condo towers they serve.

Even the Canadian Self-Storage Association doesn’t seem to keep accurate statistics on how many units there are in Canada, although veterans estimate there are about 3,000 facilities.

That’s a fraction of the 52,000 facilities across the United States where self storage has become an exploding, $25 billion business, fuelled by a more transient workforce, the rental apartment and condo boom, and the real estate meltdown that saw millions of homeowners forced into foreclosure.

While Canada has about 2 to 2.5 square feet per capita in self storage, Americans account for closer to 9 square feet, studies have shown.

That makes the understated self-storage sector as big in the States as the music and movie industry combined, says Mike Foy of Toronto-based Foy & Company, which provides financial and real estate advice to self-storage investors.

“The intriguing thing is this sector isn’t considered worthy of the same (attention from business analysts) as office or apartments or industrial or retail, and the reality is we probably produce better returns than all the others put together, in some cases.” says Storage-Mart CEO Mike Burnam.

“I’ve been fighting this battle for years to get analyst and investor attention for an industry that is so unknown.”

The Montrealer behind Miami’s tasteful self storage boom

Montreal-born architect Peter Blitstein can’t bring himself to think inside the box.

Instead, he’s launched a revolution — so far largely in Miami, Florida — to turn bleak concrete self-storage bunkers into beautifully designed buildings that give bring colourful new life to city streets.

His latest, the nearly completed East Coast Building, takes self storage to a whole new level — 10 storeys with a five-star rooftop restaurant that will boast 360-degree views of Miami.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

At ground level will be glass-walled offices and shops aimed at making the building feel more of an office or condo tower than a bland storage container for the overflow of peoples’ lives.

“These are exotic buildings in unbelievable locations,” said Blitstein, who started building self-storage 20 years ago in South Florida and now has 12 high-design buildings in the works in Miami.

“We take the view that these buildings are works of art. There is no copying from one building to another. We’ve decided to educate our clients visually — these are large buildings that are going to be around a long time.

“It’s been a struggle, but we’ve stressed that there should be pride of ownership.”

Blitstein, who has about 30 self-storage facilities under his belt in the U.S., began experimenting with new design just before the recession. But the economic downturn stopped everything in its tracks.

By the time Miami started turning the corner, the city had already recognized that it needed better controls on future development and had approved Miami 21, new planning guidelines and regulations aimed at creating “well-balanced neighbourhoods and rich quality of life.”

They even included new rules around self-storage, which politicians recognized was booming and moving into up-and-coming residential neighbourhoods, right along with condominium towers.

That gave a boost to Blitstein’s efforts.

“Miami is in the midst of a building boom, just like Toronto. There are some 20,000 or 30,000 condos under construction and these (self-storage) buildings are going to be following right behind,” he says.

“The building department wants them to look like museums in Europe — they want them to have real character. They will no longer accept lifeless eyesores.”

That’s not the case in many cities outside Miami, at least so far.

Some municipalities actually prohibit self-storage facilities in the core, despite huge demand from urban dwellers, downsizing baby boomers and small businesses who prefer to rent within five kilometres of their homes.

“Right now people are still looking at them as big lifeless boxes. But I think once these (12) new buildings come on line, you’re going to see people take a different view of them,” says Blitstein.

“More of them are going to become part of the urban fabric, whether it’s in Oklahoma City or L.A. They’re coming to Toronto. I have no doubt about that.”