Alexandria, VA – Looking to lower its facility rental costs as soon as possible, the Self Storage Association turned to Scheer Partners Inc. to achieve this objective, and the commercial real estate services firm today announces that it has delivered.
Like other tenants in the Washington, D.C. area, the Alexandria-based Self Storage Association (SSA) saw the rent at its existing office escalate faster than the overall market, while its facility requirement changed.
Scheer Partners, a leading provider of commercial real estate services in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan regions, negotiated a new lease for the trade group that significantly decreases its expenses and improved its efficiency.
The SSA has signed a five-year lease for nearly 3,500 square feet of office space at 1901 N. Beauregard St., an 87,000-square-foot building in Alexandria that is across the street from the association’s current space at 1900 N. Beauregard St. The SSA is scheduled to move into its new facility in September.
Indianapolis-based Duke Realty owns both Alexandria buildings and represented itself in the lease negotiation with the SSA.
“We evaluated various subleasing strategies, lease-liability takeover scenarios with other landlords, and the lease renegotiation,” says Nate Crowe, a commercial leasing broker with Scheer Partners. “In the end, we were able to negotiate a 30 percent rent-reduction effective immediately, a more efficient facility with improvements, and a moving allowance to the new office.”
Mike Blackett, the Self Storage Association’s vice president of operations, says, “With the lease and everything that goes along with finding new space and moving, Scheer Partners was extremely knowledgeable.”
Blackett’s recommendation to other tenants facing a similar challenge: “Follow your broker’s advice. A lot of people sign leases and only read half of it and have no idea what they are getting into.”
Mike Norris, LEED AP, a company vice president who leads Scheer Partners’ Tysons Corner office, adds that “landlords in today’s market are offering more aggressive concessions than they have in years to fill their vacancies. Tenants who are willing to leverage the market and take advantage of these concessions are going to reap the benefits and create significant cost savings.”
The SSA is the only national, non-profit organization serving the self storage industry. A 501(c)(6) organization, the SSA represents more than 6,000 U.S. member companies as direct or indirect members (via 23 affiliated state associations) that own and operate more than 22,000 facilities in the United States.