5 minute read
Industry News
Kennards Milton Beddown
Beddown have partnered with Australia’s largest car park operator, Secure Parking, who operate over 600 car parks across Australia and New Zealand.
Kennards Self Storage at Milton are proud to be helping Beddown, providing donated storage space for a number of items including bedding, mattresses and toiletries.
The objective of Beddown is to take spaces that are commonly used and busy during the day but at night are left vacant or empty. Beddown activates and repurposes these spaces at night into pop-up accommodation to ensure the homeless, in particular those who are sleeping rough are able to access a safe, secure shelter to get a great night’s sleep and have access to a range of services that restore dignity, respect, self-esteem and confidence.
Beddown collaborates with other charitable organisations to provide complementary services such as laundry & showers, food & beverages, health & wellbeing, new clothing to name a few. Their first space to be activated and repurposed was a car park. Car parks offer great spaces that are sheltered, secure, spacious, clean and can be activated very quickly into pop-up accommodation and be popped down very quickly, with minimal disruption to the business. www.beddown.org.au
Quick thinking leads to arrest
Lance Greaney, director of Oamaru Self Storage in Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand, was involved in a foot chase when a wanted man ran out of an RV that was parked on the property, in which he’d been hiding illegally. Tom Palmer, from Foley’s Plumbing and Electrical, was working on the RV and noticed one of the windows had been smashed. They moved seat cushions and found a man lying there in the fetal position. They thought the man was homeless and given he wasn’t moving, possibly dead. The man then sprang up and raced out of the vehicle. Tom gave chase and was soon joined by Lance. They caught up with the man in less than a kilometre when he was trying to climb a fence. They held him on the ground until police arrived. Lance said Tom’s quick action helped as he was a former rugby player. The man is said to be Leslie McCreath, who’s been on the run since December. Public warnings had been issued about McCreath, calling him dangerous. An arrest warrant included charges related to firearms and methamphetamine.
Sanju Brahmachari
Welcome Sanju Brahmachari as the newest member of the SSAA team. An eternal optimist and always happy to help, Sanju loves numbers and is very enthusiastic about putting processes in place. In her role as Admin & Book keeper with the SSAA, Sanju is hoping she is able to engage and assist members with her valuable knowledge and be a useful contributor to the self storage industry.
Congratulations to Michael Purnell-Webb the Commercial Operations Manager from Wilson Storage in Melbourne on his recent marriage to Serryn. The wedding was held on the 10th of April in Palm Cove Far North Queensland. A perfect Queensland day with the ceremony being held in the Alamanda Chapel and the reception at Neptunes Restaurant on the Esplanade overlooking the Coral Sea.
Stax of Storage Churchill
The doors have opened in April and the facility is being managed by KW Property Group from Morwell. Here’s some details about the facility: l The building was Gippsland Trade Printers, printing the local newspaper for many years. l The site was purchased in late 2019 and used
Tony from The Sledgehammer Group to remove the asbestos. l Regis Built then converted the 2766m2 space into 130 self storage units in a range of sizes. l Jason Keane and his team from Sentinel
Australasia secured the space offering pin coded access, CCTV, and individual door alarms and sensor lighting. l There’s also four loading bays and trolleys servicing the property with room to grow the external compound parking as well. l Owner, Con Frances, has also recently purchased (December 2020) J & D Self Storage located in Portland, Victoria and will be completing some facility upgrades over the coming months, as well as rebranding the store to Stax of Storage Portland.
TAXIBOX launches Australian first
Australian mobile storage business, TAXIBOX, has recently enhanced its on-site storage unit range by adding Bluetooth locking technology, a first for the construction and building industry in Australia, rendering lost keys or un-granted access a thing of the past. The introduction of this keyless technology allows customers to manage their boxes remotely via any smartphone with access to transparent activity logs, providing an unprecedented level of security for on-site storage solutions.
Co-founder and managing director Ben Cohn said, “Unfortunately theft is a huge issue for the construction industry and as part of our commitment to being an innovative, storage solutions business, we have introduced Bluetooth technology to our on-site storage facilities.”
20 years of storage
Congratulations to Toni, a long-term storer at Bright Self Storage in Ferntree Gully, Victoria. Toni has been storing there for 20 years and has seen Bright Self Storage grow from humble beginnings. The familyowned and run business turned 20 last year, so Toni has almost been there since the beginning. Sister’s Jacki Mackenzie (nee Bright) and Katherine Stephens (nee Bright) delivered Toni flowers to celebrate and thank her for her loyalty to the business, plus they also gave her some free storage. Can anyone beat 20 years at their facility? Email us at marketing@selfstorage.com.au
2021 is shaping up to be the strongest selling market we have seen for many years.
WHY IS THIS THE CASE?
l NEW and EXISTING buyer groups are competing heavily for Self Storage assets l Significant weight of capital attracted to this stable asset class l Historically low interest rates
For a confidential discussion regarding your facility/facilities, call Matt Walsh
Highway Frontage Real Estate 0411 880 054 | 1300 661 950
L1. 146 Chapel St, St Kilda VIC 3182
mwalsh@highwayfrontage.com.au www.selfstoragerealestate.com.au
HIGHWAY FRONTAGE ARE SSAA MEMBERS
SSAA Online Industry Training
