Nuveen Real Estate has invested in MyPlace, a vertically integrated self storage platform, launched by Kurt O’Brien, the founder & former CEO of Simply Storage.
Nuveen and MyPlace previously partnered last year, through a $300 million venture acquiring self storage properties. The plan consists in growing the value of assets under management to approximately $1 billion in the next two years.
As part of the new deal, MyPlace will operate on a national level, with a primary focus on secondary markets located across the Midwest, Sun Belt and Mountain West, specifically places with limited supply and strong demographic trends.
Nuveen Managing Director Melissa Reagen stated in prepared remarks the benefits of investing in the asset class, including regular demand and limited capital expenditure. The self storage sector is still displaying a positive outlook. The market reached record performance during the first years of the pandemic, although that could slow down significantly in 2023.
John Simonis and Dan Hagedorn of Reed Smith represented Nuveen while Larry Medvinsky and Tushna Gamadia with Morrison & Foerster provided legal service to Kurt O’Brien.
Nuveen’s focus on niche asset classes
Nuveen is set on further investing in self storage through one-off buying and selective portfolio acquisitions. The company started investing in the sector in 2003 and has doubled its footprint since 2019, after the creation of a real estate team focusing on niche classes, also including data centres, co-living, medical office, life science and hotels, among others.
Nuveen’s business ventures in the past year involved launching a global impact investing initiative aimed at expanding affordable, sustainable and climate safe housing, targeting at least $15 billion in assets under management by 2026.
