Self Storage Feasibility Study in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area

Atlanta ranks 2 of 513 metro and micro areas for self storage, yet the location quotient of 1.04x says storage lending here is almost exactly the national share, and the class is only 17 of 39 in the area's own ladder. Size is what the file adds: 55 approvals from FY2017 to FY2026 for $83.3 million, a $1.0 million median at 1.08x the national class figure, and a central range from $526,000 to $1.9 million. Atlanta's record is therefore large, well distributed and unconcentrated: near the top of the national list for the class, yet no more storage-heavy than the nation.

Program mix, lenders and counties

Storage in Atlanta leans on 7(a) with 32 loans, but 504 supplies a substantial 23. The franchise share is 0.00%. The lenders named are Florida Business Development Corporation with 5 loans and $8.3 million, Small Business Access Partners, Inc. with 5 and $7.9 million, Live Oak Banking Company with 6 and $13.9 million, and, after them, The Huntington National Bank at 5 loans and $10.2 million, with Bank Five Nine at 5 loans and $5.8 million. The projects are scattered: Carroll County, GA and Cobb County, GA have 6 loans each, Fulton County, GA 5.

A cancellation floor worth reading

Cancellation after approval has a floor of 23.9% for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, which is high for any class and a number a feasibility study cannot ignore; a cancelled approval can mean a project that never closed or a loan that was later withdrawn, and the data cannot say which. The stricter variant and the charge-off rate are hidden. Yearly rows are visible only for FY2018, with 6 loans and $5.1 million, FY2020 with 6 loans and $6.9 million and FY2021 with 7 loans and $8.9 million; the other years are hidden, so no recent trend can be read here.

What a storage study must test

Since RV and boat storage is counted inside the class and cannot be split out, the study should say what unit mix the project builds. The decisive test is supply: existing climate-controlled and drive-up square footage within the trade area, the pipeline under construction, and rent levels, which the study must source itself. Land cost, entitlement and construction price belong against the $1.0 million median. Lease-up is the core risk, so debt service coverage should assume a slow fill, and the appraiser should value stabilized income. Given the cancellation floor, a lender will look for a sponsor with closed storage projects behind them.