By Joshua Burd
A joint venture has taken the wraps off a 98,000-square-foot self-storage facility in Montville, marking the final piece of a five-acre development site in the township.
The team — which includes Diversified Properties, The Hampshire Cos. and 1026 Real Estate Investors — joined public officials last week to unveil the new project at 352 Main Road/Route 202. Operated by CubeSmart, the climate-controlled facility offers 755 modern units and more than 40 exterior garage doors on the main level, along with security and an on-site office.
Diversified and its in-house construction team, Morris Construction Management, oversaw the development process, while Hampshire and 1026 Real Estate Investors co-funded equity for the project.
“For twenty years, our team has taken great pride in our consistent ability to unlock value from opportunistic real estate investments across a variety of asset classes,” said Nicholas Minoia, founding principal of Diversified Properties, which is based in the township. “This project is special for us as it is quite literally in our company’s backyard and it allowed us to deploy our value-creation platform to provide tangible economic benefits to our hometown.
Minoia thanked officials such as state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, Morris County Commissioner Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Montville Mayor Frank Cooney and others who were on hand at the April 22 ceremony, highlighting the broader strategy at the site. When Diversified acquired the property in 2015, the parcel included a 35,000-square-foot office building that was 80 percent vacant and a 2.5-acre pad site that had been zoned for office construction in the late 1980s but never developed.
The firm leased up the existing building and opted to pursue a self-storage project for the adjacent site, capitalizing on its location at Interstate 287 and Route 202, according to a news release. It then tapped CubeSmart, one of the nation’s largest self-storage operators, to manage the facility upon completion.
“It’s rewarding to the Montville Township community when you have developers like Diversified Properties invest in underutilized township properties which now results in better tax ratables and strengthens our tax base while providing jobs and economic opportunity for the community,” Cooney said.
The project is also the latest self-storage development for Diversified Properties, which has bought and sold facilities in Burlington County and built an 85,000-square-foot facility in Hackensack.
Pennacchio added: “This project is a perfect encapsulation of how creative and experienced developers can be tremendous partners in breathing new life into properties throughout Morris County. We thank Diversified Properties for their commitment to bringing tangible economic activity to our legislative district and look forward to continuing to work together in the years to come.”
