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250909 Storage Point September
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September Performance to date 9/9/25
Portersville (Fisher Road)
Zelienople (Market Street)
Overall Takeaways
Portersville
Zelienople
Performance Update for Storage Point Portersville & Zelienople
Storage Point Portersville (Fisher Road)
Occupancy & Rental Activity: Portersville’s occupancy has been strong overall, though it saw some recent softening. The facility currently has 187 units occupied out of 211 total (about 88.6% occupancy) as of the end of August 2025, down from 195 occupied units in July (~92% occupancy). The drop in August was driven by 22 move-outs vs. 14 move-ins that month (net –8). Earlier in the year, the property underwent an expansion – total unit count increased from 196 to 211 units around January 2025 – which temporarily pushed occupancy down to ~81% (as new units came online). However, leasing picked up quickly in spring: for example, April saw a net gain of +11 units (12 move-ins to 1 move-out) and pushed occupancy back up to ~88%. By June–July, Portersville was over 92% occupied in unit count. Square-foot occupancy has mirrored this trend, currently around 87% of total square footage filled (29716 sq. ft. out of ~33982 sq. ft. as of August). This indicates most unit sizes are being rented, though the few vacancies likely include some larger units (since the SF occupancy is slightly below the unit occupancy percentage).
Leads & Move-Ins: The strong spring leasing suggests that marketing and lead flow were effective during that period – we saw consistent move-ins (e.g. 10–12 move-ins in April–May) that kept pace with or exceeded move-outs. In particular, April–May had very robust leasing activity. It’s likely that promotions or increased demand drove an influx of leads converting to 12 move-ins in April and 10 in May. We should note that despite a healthy number of 14 move-ins in August, it wasn’t enough to offset the spike in departures. This recent gap implies either a slowdown in lead generation or an issue with retention (or both). Going forward, we should focus on boosting lead volume (through advertising, referrals, SEO, etc.) to replace the tenants lost in August, and also examine why so many tenants left in a single month. If those August move-outs were seasonal or due to one-time events (like auctioned units or rent increases), we need to plan for those factors. If they were due to customer dissatisfaction or competition, that’s a retention issue we must address with better service, rate adjustments, or incentives to stay.
Occupancy Trends: Overall, Portersville’s occupancy trend has been positive year-over-year. When tracking began (late summer 2024), occupancy was in the mid-90% range. It dipped in late 2024 (down to ~87% by December) as some tenants moved out and new units were added, but the facility leased up the new capacity quickly in 2025. Occupancy peaked around June–July 2025 at over 92% before the recent pullback. The fact that occupancy rebounded so well after adding units is a win – it indicates strong demand in the market and effective leasing efforts. The primary challenge now is maintaining that occupancy: after August’s decline we’re back in the high-80s percent, so we should aim to recover to 90%+ in the coming months. Ensuring sustained marketing (to generate leads) and competitive pricing will be key, as well as possibly engaging tenants to reduce future unexpected move-outs (for instance, checking in on tenant satisfaction, or implementing rent incentives to improve renewals).
Revenue & Rent Potential: On the financial side, Portersville has shown significant improvement in rent collected versus potential. In the months right after takeover (late 2024), actual revenue lagged far behind gross potential rent – e.g. in October 2024 the site collected about $10.6k against a potential of $24.6k (only ~43% of potential rent)【30†】. This gap was likely due to delinquencies, concessions, or pro-rated rents during lease-up. The good news is that by spring and summer 2025, collections have caught up. For example, in June 2025 the property collected $14.0k on a $18.1k gross potential (≈77%), and by July it actually collected $28.8k against an $18.1k potential (158%). That July spike suggests we received a large amount of past-due rent or fees (perhaps through auctioning delinquent units, late fees, or several tenants paying back balances). Even August’s collections were 125% of potential ($21.65k collected vs $17.3k potential). In general, by mid-2025 the facility was regularly collecting around 90–95% of its potential rent before those one-time boosts, which is a big improvement from the ~50% range late last year. This indicates that delinquency has been brought under control and rent concessions are minimal now – a clear win for revenue management. Going forward, we should continue this focus on collections (keep delinquencies low) and work on maximizing occupancy at market rates. Gross potential rent currently sits around $17–18k per month, and with August’s occupancy drop, we’re slightly below that in actual rent – so refilling those vacant units will directly increase monthly revenue closer to that potential. The fact that we’ve even exceeded 100% of potential in some months means we’re capitalizing on other income streams (late fees, etc.), which is great, but our main goal remains to keep units filled and paying on time.
Where We’re Winning: Portersville has demonstrated strong lease-up capability – even after adding new units, the team was able to reach >90% occupancy within a few months. This shows effective marketing and sales at the property. Also, rent collection has markedly improved: we are now capturing almost all of the potential rental income, and even recouping lost revenue through fees and auctions (as seen in July). Another win is that despite a dip late last year, we achieved a high occupancy through the first half of 2025, meaning demand exists and tenants are finding our facility attractive (location, pricing, and service are resonating for much of the year).
Challenges to Address: The recent increase in turnover is the biggest red flag. August’s 22 move-outs are unusually high – we need to determine the cause. If many of these were due to auctions (non-paying customers), then while it’s good we cleaned those accounts up, we should strive to prevent so many defaults in the first place (perhaps by tighter payment enforcement or earlier intervention with at-risk tenants). If they were voluntary move-outs (e.g. customers leaving after summer storage, or leaving for a competitor), we should look at our customer experience and local competition – are our rates too high after increases, or did service issues drive people away? This many move-outs at once could also be seasonal (college students or campers leaving end of summer); if so, we should prepare with extra fall marketing to backfill those seasonal vacancies quickly. Lead generation going forward is crucial – to get back above 90% occupancy we’ll likely need an uptick in move-ins in the coming months. We should evaluate our marketing channels (website, Google listing, signage, etc.) to ensure we’re getting steady inquiries, and consider promotions to attract new tenants during the slower fall season. Lastly, while collections are much better, we must continue vigilant credit control so we don’t accumulate another batch of delinquents that result in a large auction wave. Overall, Portersville is performing well, but focusing on tenant retention and consistent move-in flow will help sustain its success.
Storage Point Zelienople (Market Street)
Occupancy & Rental Activity: Zelienople’s facility has a larger unit count, and it has seen a trajectory somewhat similar to Portersville: high occupancy, a dip during expansion, then a strong recovery with a recent pull-back. As of end of August 2025, 271 of 305 units are occupied (88.9% unit occupancy). That’s down slightly from 280 occupied in July (~91.8%) and a peak of 280/305 earlier in the summer. Notably, Zelienople added new units as well – total units went from 293 to 305 around January 2025【17†】. This expansion dropped the occupancy rate from the mid-80% range in late 2024 to about 81% in January 2025 (since those new units came in vacant). However, the team rapidly leased up a lot of that capacity: by May 2025, occupancy was back to ~89.8% (274 units occupied) and by July it hit over 91%. Much of this gain came from an exceptional May – that month Zelienople saw 21 move-ins to only 4 move-outs (net +17), one of its best months of the period. June and July also had solid positive net rentals (+3 in June, +5 in July). As a result, occupancy climbed steadily through the first half of 2025, demonstrating strong demand. Similar to Portersville, however, August brought a setback: 23 move-outs in August (against 14 move-ins) led to a net –9 drop in occupied units. This is a significant one-month turnover, bringing unit occupancy just under 89%. On a square-foot basis, Zelienople is actually doing a bit better – currently about 91.5% of total square footage is occupied【26†】. This suggests that many of the vacated units might be on the smaller side (we lost units but relatively less square footage, meaning larger units remain rented).
Leads & Move-Ins: Zelienople had some of the highest leasing volumes of any property in our portfolio during the spring – particularly in May and again in July. Twice this year it achieved 21 move-ins in a month, which is an excellent indicator that our marketing efforts can produce big results. Those surges imply a healthy flow of leads and an ability to convert them (perhaps aided by new inventory from the expansion and possibly special promotions). The challenge is that move-outs were also elevated in certain periods. Late 2024 saw back-to-back months of high move-outs (10 in Sept, 12 in Oct, 11 in Nov, 7 in Dec), which drove occupancy down. It’s possible this was due to clearing out delinquent accounts or seasonal usage ending. The recent August 2025 spike of 23 move-outs is even more pronounced and should be investigated immediately. We should ask: Did a batch of leases all end at once? Are customers leaving for a competitor or due to a rate increase? Or was there an operational issue? Knowing the cause will help us correct it. For example, if many were due to delinquency auctions, then like Portersville we’re addressing non-payers (which improves collections) but at the cost of occupancy, requiring rapid re-leasing. If it’s market competition, we may need to adjust our rates or highlight our value proposition more in advertising. Moving forward, sustaining lead generation is critical for Zelienople as well. We know we can attract a large number of tenants (as seen in spring); now with nearly 34 vacancies open, we have an opportunity to fill them. The goal should be to capitalize on the proven demand by continuing strong marketing through the fall. Additionally, focusing on customer retention will help – for instance, contacting tenants who might be considering leaving (before they give notice) with loyalty discounts or other incentives could mitigate the outflow in the future.
Occupancy Trends: Over the past year, Zelienople started around 91% occupancy in August 2024 and then declined to roughly 84% by December 2024. That decline coincided with a period of net negative rentals each month (losing 4–8 units per month in fall), which could be seasonal or related to management transition. The turning point was around February–March 2025. After the expansion in January (which temporarily diluted occupancy rate), the property stabilized and then saw strong growth: occupancy rose from 248 units in Jan to 257 by March, then held steady in April, and jumped to 274–280 in May-July. This trajectory shows a robust rebound and effective absorption of new units. The current dip in August brings occupancy back to late spring levels. It’s worth noting that even at ~89% occupancy, Zelienople is still in a healthy range, though of course we’d like it back above 90%+. Maintaining above 90% consistently will likely be our target. Achieving that will depend on quickly re-leasing the vacated units from August and keeping future monthly net rentals positive. We should monitor if the August drop is an anomaly or the start of a trend; if demand in the market is cooling, we may need to adjust by offering move-in specials or more aggressive marketing to keep occupancy up as we enter the slower season.
Revenue & Rent Potential: Zelienople’s revenue performance has greatly improved in the last year. In the latter half of 2024, the property was only collecting about 50% of its gross potential rent (e.g. ~$27k collected vs $55k potential in Oct–Nov 2024). This indicated many units were unoccupied or not paying, which aligns with the occupancy dip and possible delinquencies at that time. Fast forward to 2025, and the story is much better: as occupancy climbed and delinquencies were addressed, the gap between actual revenue and potential narrowed dramatically. By April 2025, collections were about $29.5k against $36.3k potential (~81% of potential). Over the summer, it kept improving – August 2025 revenue was $36,323 on a $37,687 gross potential, over 96% of potential rent achieved. In other words, virtually all units that are occupied are paying close to standard rates, and we’re losing very little to vacancies or non-payment. Unlike Portersville, Zelienople hasn’t had months exceeding 100% of potential (no huge surges from fees), which suggests fewer extreme delinquency collections were needed. This is a positive sign that tenants are generally paying on time and we aren’t heavily reliant on things like auction sales or one-time fees. Gross potential rent for Zelienople is roughly $36k–$38k per month after the expansion (depending on occupancy of various unit sizes), so with August’s ~$36.3k collected, we’re essentially operating at the property’s income capacity. If we refill the vacant units, there’s perhaps another ~$1.3k of monthly rent to be gained to hit 100% of potential. Keeping that potential growing is also important – as market rents increase, we should be adjusting rates for new rentals to push the gross potential higher over time. But the primary focus should be maintaining those high collection rates (staying on top of any late payments quickly) and getting occupancy back up so we fully realize the revenue the property is capable of generating.
Where We’re Winning: Zelienople has done a great job in a few key areas. First, absorbing the expansion – adding 12 new units and then renting most of them within a few months is a strong performance. The leasing team clearly succeeded in attracting tenants to fill that additional space. Second, high leasing volume in peak months – hitting 21 move-ins in a month (twice) shows that our marketing and reputation can yield big results. Third, improved financial performance – the property went from collecting barely half its potential income to virtually all of it, which speaks to better occupancy and credit control. This turnaround in revenue means the facility is now contributing close to its maximum cash flow. Another win is the current occupancy of key unit sizes – since the square footage occupancy is ~91.5%, it implies our larger units are occupied (often larger units can be tougher to fill, but here it appears they are, which is great for revenue efficiency). Overall, Zelienople has proven it can compete well in its market when the fundamentals (occupancy and collections) are managed properly.
Challenges to Address: Much like Portersville, tenant retention and consistency are the main concerns. The pattern of a steep occupancy drop in the fall (last year) and now another in late summer indicates we might have an issue with seasonal turnover or customer retention. We should analyze if many tenants only use the storage for summer (for example, people storing vehicles or students from May–Aug). If that’s a known cycle, perhaps we can create promotions to entice them to stay longer or return next year, and concurrently plan marketing to target new customer segments in the fall. If the move-outs were largely due to auctions of delinquent accounts, then while we have cleaned up balances, we need to ensure we don’t let balances get that far behind in the first place. Implementing more proactive collection efforts (payment reminders, grace period calls, etc.) could help reduce the need for future auctions. Another challenge could be market competition – we should keep an eye on whether a competitor is undercutting prices or running specials that coincided with the spike in move-outs. If so, adjusting our rates or offering a loyalty discount to existing tenants might prevent losing customers on price sensitivity. Additionally, with occupancy back in the high 80s, we have room to improve – those ~34 empty units are an opportunity but also a risk if they linger vacant. We should ensure our lead funnel remains full: continue investing in online ads, local outreach, and optimizing our Google My Business page (since many leads likely find us via Google searches or the website). Lastly, customer experience is key for retention – any service issues (like difficulty accessing units, customer service responsiveness, etc.) should be identified and fixed so that current tenants have no reason (other than necessity) to leave. In summary, Zelienople’s focus should be on regaining the few percentage points of occupancy lost recently and sustaining the financial gains. By improving retention and keeping up the marketing momentum, we can get this property back above 90% occupancy and hitting 100% of its rental potential consistently.
Conclusion
In both Storage Point locations, the overall performance is solid, with strong occupancies and much-improved revenue compared to a year ago. We’re clearly “winning” in generating demand (as evidenced by high move-in counts in peak months and quick lease-up of new units) and in maximizing revenue from occupied units (collection rates are very high, and each property even captured extra income through fees when possible). The key challenges that have emerged are largely about holding onto that success: we need to reduce the spikes of move-outs and keep occupancy on a steady upward trajectory. For the upcoming period, our recommendations are to double down on marketing and lead generation (to fill recent vacancies), investigate and address the reasons behind the mass move-outs in August (so we can correct course – whether it’s pricing, customer service, or other factors), and continue strong collection practices to maintain our revenue levels. Both properties have a strong foundation – high visibility, nearly full facilities – and with some focus on retention and proactive marketing, we should be able to correct the recent dip and continue to grow their performance. Overall, the owners can be pleased with how far these sites have come (especially in revenue terms), and with attentive management on the noted challenges, we expect to drive occupancy and income even higher in the coming months.
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