Cozy condo units are linked to the rising profile of storage facilities among real estate’s alternative asset classes. Recent data from Ontario’s Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) shows approximately 4.2 million square feet of commercial self-storage space has been added to the market in the province since 2019, for a growth rate of nearly 9 per cent.

Greg Martino, MPAC’s chief valuation and standards officer, correlates that to other provincial assessment data revealing that the average condo unit in Ontario is now 35 per cent smaller than in the 1990s. Meanwhile, more than 14 million square feet or about 38 per cent of the total self-storage supply is located in Ontario’s four largest cities — Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga and Hamilton — which also boast the greatest concentration of condominiums.

“Along with condominiums providing less space to store personal possessions, the pandemic may have also added to this trend, with more people working from home, looking to store items that have accumulated in their living spaces, downsizing or undergoing renovations,” Martino theorizes.

Toronto offers up the most storage facility supply with more than 8.3 million square feet. Land costs and space constraints are figuring into the format of new developments.

“We’re seeing multi-storey buildings with sophisticated facades that allow them to blend into urban areas,” Martino reports.