Construction of a multilevel, climate-controlled storage facility is underway at 1204 S.E. 16th Court in Ankeny. Photo by Kathy A. Bolten

What: Climate-controlled, multistory storage facility and three other single-story storage facilities

Project value: $6.8 million

Where: 1204 S.E. 16th Court, Ankeny (map) 

Background and update: HFB LLC is constructing a three-story, indoor storage facility and three single-level traditional mini-storage facilities on a 6.6 acre-site north of Slumberland in Ankeny. 

HFB is owned and managed by Heartland Self Storage Inc., based in Omaha. 

HFB bought the parcel in March 2018, paying the Elwell Foundation $965,330 for the tract, Polk County real estate records show. 

Four buildings are being constructed on the site. The main building is three stories with a 30,000-square-foot footprint. The other three buildings are single-story with overhead doors, following the design of typical mini-storage units. Two buildings are 7,500 square feet; the third, 9,750 square feet. 

Daryl Leise, who owns the storage business, said when he reviewed the Des Moines area, he found there was a need for more storage square footage. 

To help make the project financially feasible, the main building has multiple levels. “There’s a demand for the land, which pushes prices upward,” he said. “If this was in a rural area, it would be one story.”

Building the project near several multifamily developments helps “get our product as close to the customer as possible,” he said. 

Nationally, the demand for multistory storage buildings is growing, according to Inside Self-Storage. Nationally, 31% of all housing units are occupied by renters who typically need space to store their belongs. The renters are mobile as they move from job to job and want their belongings stored in a secure, climate-controlled environment.

The multilevel Ankeny facility is climate-controlled and will include a drive-through unloading area, Leise said. The climate-controlled building will ensure that what is being stored isn’t damaged by the extreme temperatures, he said. 

Eighty-five percent of the company’s customers are individuals, Leise said. “They are either moving, downsizing, had a death in the family and need to store [the person’s] belongings.”
Construction of the Ankeny development is expected by be completed by fall.

Leise is also developing a similar multistory storage facility at 6220 Village View Drive in West Des Moines.

An architect’s rendering of the multilevel storage facility under construction in Ankeny. Special to the Business Record

Project Update is a Commercial Real Estate Weekly feature in which we update the status of projects underway in the Greater Des Moines area. Want to include an update about your project or suggest a project to include? Email: kathybolten@bpcdm.com.