Public Storage says it recently acquired six storage locations in Downtown Minneapolis, Lakeville, Edina, New Hope, Bloomington and Hutchinson, increasing its presence in Minnesota by 12 percent. It now has 50 facilities here, with 22 in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Meanwhile, competitor Extra Space just opened its 8th Twin Cities location across the street from the Adogo pet hotel in Minnetonka. And Wasatch Storage Partners is expanding beyond its locations in White Bear Lake, Lake Elmo and Inver Grove Heights by purchasing a former Trade Mart Furniture Center in Rochester.
Demand for such self-storage facilities is increasing in Minnesota, and especially the Twin Cities area, for three reasons. First is that the state continues to attract and retain people because it’s a good place to live. U.S. News and World Report named the Twin Cities as one of the Top 10 Best Places to Live in the country because of its abundant affordable housing (compared with other major housing markets), and low unemployment rate.
Second, young adults during the last ten years have opted more often to live in apartments and condos rather than buy small homes (providing plenty of on-site storage). And third, there’s a continued trend in downsizing by middle-age and older individuals who move to smaller homes or condos, but still have a lot of stuff they want to keep.