JLL Arranges $140 Million Refinancing for Ardent Companies and StepStone Real Estate Eight-Property Self-Storage Portfolio
NEW YORK CITY — July 21, 2026 — JLL Capital Markets has arranged $140 million in floating-rate refinancing for a portfolio of eight Class A self-storage facilities spanning 742,855 square feet across seven northeastern states, the firm announced. The financing was secured on behalf of Ardent Companies and StepStone Real Estate through ACORE Capital as part of a continuation vehicle the two firms formed to hold and optimize the portfolio.
Deal Structure and Parties
The $140 million loan from ACORE Capital is structured as a floating-rate instrument. The continuation vehicle structure allows The Ardent Companies and StepStone Real Estate to extend the portfolio's hold period, providing existing investors with a liquidity mechanism while offering new investors access to a stabilized, Class A storage platform.
The portfolio comprises 7,650 units across eight climate-controlled facilities located in convenient suburban retail corridors serving densely populated trade areas. The facilities are professionally managed by Extra Space Storage. The JLL Capital Markets team representing the partnership was led by Senior Managing Directors Brian Somoza and Steven Klein and Senior Director John Bauman, with support from associates Campbell Swango and Shishir Reddy.
"This refinancing represents an important milestone in the continued execution of our self-storage strategy and reinforces the strong foundation of our partnership with StepStone," said Thomas Olson, Partner and Head of Self-Storage Strategy for The Ardent Companies. "As we advance the next phase of this portfolio's lifecycle, we remain focused on optimizing operations and creating long-term value through disciplined asset management and strategic growth."
Lender and Market Reception
"The market's strong competitive response to the financing request demonstrates capital's conviction in the self-storage industry and more specifically, the quality of The Ardent Companies' developed portfolio," said Bauman. "We're honored to have had the opportunity to work with all parties to this transaction and are thrilled with the execution for our client."
"ACORE's commitment to this financing underscores the institutional appeal of newly delivered, climate-controlled self-storage assets in supply-constrained Northeast markets," added Klein. "The combination of The Ardent Companies' development expertise and these best-in-class facilities created a compelling value proposition that resonated strongly with lenders seeking quality exposure to the sector."
ACORE Capital manages approximately $18 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2026, and originates, acquires, and manages a broad range of real estate credit investments from offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Dallas.
Portfolio Profile: Class A, Climate-Controlled, Northeast Suburban
The eight facilities are newly built and climate-controlled, positioned in suburban retail locations across seven northeastern states. The portfolio's geographic footprint places it in a region where zoning constraints, land costs, and limited new supply can support occupancy and rents for well-located institutional assets.
Extra Space Storage, one of the self-storage industry's leading third-party operators, manages the facilities. The pairing of an institutional joint venture — The Ardent Companies bringing development and opportunistic real estate expertise, StepStone Real Estate contributing global institutional capital — with a scaled, professional operator reflects a structure that has drawn competitive lender interest across recent portfolio-level self-storage transactions.
Broader Capital Markets Context
The Ardent Companies and StepStone Real Estate transaction is part of a broader pattern of large-ticket, multi-property self-storage financings. Recent comparable deals have included a $160 million credit facility for an 11-property institutional self-storage platform across seven major U.S. markets, structured with a term loan and an accordion component to fund future growth, as well as a $115 million refinancing for a nine-property, 9,578-unit portfolio totaling 723,664 rentable square feet in New York and New Jersey. A separate 30-property, 11-state self-storage acquisition and financing totaling $250 million, structured with a floating-rate facility to support additional acquisitions and expansions, further illustrates lender appetite for diversified, platform-scale self-storage credits.
Across these transactions, lenders have consistently favored portfolios that combine geographic diversification, institutional sponsorship, professional third-party management, and newly delivered or recently stabilized Class A product. The Ardent Companies and StepStone Real Estate portfolio aligns with each of those criteria.
The Ardent Companies, founded in 2012, has deployed over $6.8 billion of capital and currently manages $2.7 billion in assets across 40 states and three countries. StepStone Real Estate is part of StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP), a global private markets investment firm responsible for approximately $811 billion of total capital, including $220 billion of assets under management, as of December 31, 2025.
JLL's Capital Markets group operates with more than 3,000 specialists worldwide across offices in nearly 50 countries, providing debt advisory, investment sales, equity and fund placement, and related services to real estate investors and occupiers globally.
Sources
JLL Newsroom — $140M Refinancing for 8-Property Self-Storage Portfolio