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The Hampshire Companies Acquire Former Armory Building in Elizabeth, N.J.

Announce Plans for State-of-The-Art Self-Storage Facility
Elizabeth, N.J.

The Hampshire Companies continues to expand its robust self-storage portfolio announcing the acquisition of the former armory building at 1189 Magnolia Avenue in Elizabeth, N.J. In one of the most unique adaptive reuse self-storage projects in the nation, The Hampshire Companies will redevelop the over 100-year-old former armory building into a state-of-the-art, institutional-quality, three story self-storage facility.  Construction is slated to begin later this year.

Originally constructed in 1912, the armory building sits directly in the heart of downtown Elizabeth. With a population of over 128,000 people and a lack of local institutional-quality self-storage facilities, Elizabeth presents the ideal demographics that Hampshire looks for in each self-storage project.  In addition to favorable demographics, the property offers accessibility to the New Jersey Turnpike, Routes 1 and 9 and the Port of Elizabeth.

The project will enable Hampshire to leverage their decades of experience in self-storage ground-up development and redevelopment to create a unique self-storage facility that honors the history of the site while bringing a modern facility to market. Hampshire’s plan calls for preserving the building’s historic façade and exterior to ensure that this important historical icon can remain a focal point of downtown Elizabeth. In the interior, Hampshire will create a 100,000-square-foot, modern, three-level self-storage facility. Following the completion of the project, the building will be professionally managed by Extra Space Storage, a leading self-storage REIT.

“As we embarked on the design of this project, the uniqueness of the building created a highly unique and complex set of challenges,” said James E. Hanson II, President & CEO of The Hampshire Companies.  “However, our self-storage team has been able to apply the lessons from the dozens of projects that preceded to this one to develop a new approach and strategy versus traditional ground up development that will allow us to deliver a first-class, institutional quality asset and valuable community amenity to an underserved market.”

Having repositioned or developed 33 self-storage facilities with an aggregate value of over $415 million since 2012 alone, Hampshire has built a robust portfolio of self-storage facilities along the eastern United States. Hampshire continues to grow its self-storage market authority with 13 self-storage development projects currently underway aggregating $239 million of investment and is targeting another 14 additional projects with an aggregate value of $243 million in the pipeline.

“Upon an initial viewing of the building, many might not see self-storage conversion as a natural fit,” said Michael Legacki, Senior Acquisitions Manager for The Hampshire Companies. “Our ability to identify real estate through our experienced-backed site selection and due diligence process allowed our team to recognize that this space presented an ideal opportunity to bring a modern self-storage asset to an underserved market. Additionally, having a strong, well-versed team enabled us to adeptly maneuver the entitlement process and work with the city of Elizabeth to gain approvals within a very tight timeline.”

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About The Hampshire Companies
The Hampshire Companies is a full-service, private real estate firm based in Morristown, New Jersey. The Hampshire Companies is a vibrant, dynamic organization that combines creative vision and superior execution, thereby enabling it to create and enhance value in real estate investments. Additional information on The Hampshire Companies is available online at HampshireRE.com.

Media Contact:
Dan Johnson
R&J Strategic Communications 
908-895-0785
djohnson@randjsc.com