JLL’s capital markets team has closed the sale of a 14-property, 8,517-unit self-storage portfolio in markets including Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Louis. JLL worked on behalf of the seller, The Jenkins Organization. National Storage Affiliates Trust purchased the assets. The facilities are located within or near dense population centers along major thoroughfares with excellent visibility and signage. The portfolio consists of six properties in and around Houston; three in the Austin MSA; two in Minneapolis-St. Paul markets and one each in Dallas, San Antonio and St. Louis. The JLL capital markets investment advisory team representing the seller was led by managing directors Steve Mellon and Brian Somoza, senior managing director David Berglund and vice president Blaise Tomazic. “This was a highly compelling, turnkey opportunity for an investor to acquire a well-occupied self-storage portfolio with upside,” Mellon said. “National Storage Affiliates Trust will be able to seamlessly integrate these properties into its already impressive roster of properties.” According to JLL’s Self Storage REITS Q3 2020 report, the national self-storage REITs appear to be recovering from the market slow-down caused by the COVID19 pandemic in the early part of 2020, with operating metrics returning to historic levels. Acquisition activity among the national self-storage REITs increased significantly during the third quarter of 2020, and third-party management platforms continue to grow among the national self-storage REITs.