Marcus & Millichap Brokers Sale of 717-Unit Extra Space Storage Facility in Malden, Massachusetts

Marcus & Millichap has closed the sale of a 717-climate-controlled-unit, 74,795-net-rentable-square-foot Extra Space Storage managed facility in Malden, Massachusetts, the firm announced Aug. 5. Calare Properties was the seller and Hearthfire Holdings was the buyer in the transaction, which also encompasses a 25,095-square-foot triple-net warehouse and a 3,400-square-foot tenant-occupied kiosk.

Asset Profile and Location

The property sits on 4.65 acres off U.S. Route 1 in Malden, less than two miles from Cambridge and approximately seven miles from Downtown Boston. The self-storage component comprises 717 climate-controlled units totaling 74,795 net rentable square feet, while the industrial warehouse is leased on a triple-net basis to UniUni, a Vancouver, Canada-based logistics company. Combined, the improvements span roughly 103,000 square feet across the storage, industrial, and kiosk components.

At the time of sale, the self-storage facility was 90.78% physically occupied and 91.77% economically occupied. Economic occupancy slightly above physical occupancy indicates limited concessions and strong rent collections, reflecting a stabilized operating profile. The asset's position along a major arterial corridor with direct access to Cambridge and downtown Boston supports demand from both residential storage users and logistics operators serving the region's dense inner-ring submarkets.

Renovation and Repositioning

The facility was completely renovated and rebranded in late 2024, with additional upgrades to the overall site and the industrial building completed in summer 2025. Those improvements brought the asset to what Nathan Coe, senior managing director investments in Marcus & Millichap's Columbus office and the lead agent on the transaction, described as institutional investment grade.

"This REIT-managed self-storage asset was completely renovated and rebranded in late 2024," Coe said. "The strong buyer interest and competitive process was evidence of the continued strength of the self-storage sector, especially for stabilized assets in larger markets such as this. The sellers did a tremendous job taking this asset to institutional investment-grade level. The overall site and the industrial building received upgrades in summer 2025 and the buyer is adding a tremendous asset to their growing portfolio."

Calare's capital investment in the property aligns with a broader national pattern in which owners are upgrading existing commercial assets rather than pursuing ground-up development. The U.S. commercial property remodeling industry reached an estimated $39.8 billion in 2026, growing at a 0.8% CAGR over the prior five years, and commercial renovation spending is forecast to rise from approximately $300 billion in 2024 to $500 billion by 2030 as owners seek to attract institutional capital amid elevated construction costs and changing demand.

Transaction Participants

Nathan Coe, Gabriel Coe, and Brett Hatcher, in association with Thomas Shihadeh, Marcus & Millichap's broker of record in Massachusetts, represented Calare Properties and procured the buyer, Hearthfire Holdings.

Michael Sullivan of Calare Properties said the firm is actively pursuing new opportunities following the sale. "The Marcus & Millichap team did an excellent job in managing the sales process to a successful close," Sullivan said. "We are actively looking for new opportunities and look forward to working with them in the future."

Hearthfire Holdings acquires a stabilized, REIT-managed asset with near-full occupancy and an institutional-grade operating structure through the Extra Space Storage brand. The transaction reflects continued investor appetite for self-storage and logistics-adjacent industrial product in high-barrier, infill Boston submarkets.

Market Context

Marcus & Millichap closed 8,818 transactions in 2025 totaling approximately $50.9 billion in sales volume. As of December 31, 2025, the firm had 1,808 investment sales and financing professionals across more than 80 offices in the United States and Canada. The firm's research indicates transaction volumes are approaching pre-pandemic levels, with traded property counts running approximately 10 to 15 percent below the 2014–2019 average and overall 2025 deal flow tracking close to 2016 levels.

Self-storage and industrial assets have remained among the more resilient commercial property segments, supported by sustained demand from logistics users and urban storage consumers. The Malden facility's dual-use configuration — combining climate-controlled self-storage with a NNN-leased warehouse occupied by a last-mile logistics operator — positions it as a hybrid asset in one of New England's most supply-constrained markets.

Calare Properties' decision to sell a newly upgraded, stabilized asset reflects a portfolio recycling strategy in which the seller harvests gains from a repositioned property and redeploys capital into new opportunities as investment market activity rebounds.

Sources

Marcus & Millichap Press Release, Aug. 5, 2026