Heitman backs more than 106 US properties as SmartStop commits up to CAD $300 million in Canada

Within two weeks of each other, two self-storage joint ventures were announced, one in the United States and one in Canada. The US deal cited assets priced below replacement cost and retreating supply; the Canadian deal was premised on lease-up upside in an early-stage portfolio.

Heitman and Andover launch with more than 106 properties

On October 7, 2026, Andover Properties and Heitman announced a series of joint ventures to build a diversified self-storage portfolio across the United States. The arrangement started with more than 106 properties across 16 states, spanning both value-add and core-plus strategies.

Andover is the operating partner. Its Storage King USA brand runs more than 180 facilities totalling more than 15 million square feet across 20 states. Heitman brings institutional capital and a long track record. The Chicago-based firm manages $48 billion in assets and has deployed more than $15 billion across 1,600 self-storage properties in 14 countries since it began investing in the sector in July 1996. In the United States, Heitman has acquired more than 1,200 stores in over 140 markets.

According to Bisnow, in May 2026 Heitman had separately launched a core-plus self-storage acquisition strategy with $275 million in commitments and a further $200 million in co-investment funds, seeded with 79 facilities and 4.9 million square feet.

Doug Gurr, Heitman’s head of U.S. self-storage acquisitions, said the current entry point allows for buying assets well below replacement cost. Brian Cohen, Andover’s president and CEO, described the sector as being at a turning point where a pullback in new supply and firming demand could push rents and occupancy higher. He also cited the sector’s fragmented ownership as an opening for a vertically integrated operator to add value.

SmartStop commits up to CAD $300 million in Canada

On September 29, 2026, SmartStop Self Storage REIT (NYSE: SMA) announced an agreement to invest in ICM Bluebird Canadian Self Storage LP. The confirmed capital at close is approximately CAD $74 million (approximately USD $54 million), giving SmartStop a 50 percent general partner interest and approximately 34 percent limited partner interest in 14 self-storage properties; the total potential commitment of up to CAD $300 million reflects an option to invest up to CAD $228 million more over subsequent years as the fund acquires additional properties.

The 14 properties hold about 9,600 units across roughly 961,000 net rentable square feet. At announcement, about half the units were physically occupied; the portfolio was in early lease-up. The capital structure includes CAD $49 million in limited partner equity and CAD $25 million in convertible preferred equity at a 6.5 percent coupon, convertible to LP equity in tranches over 24 months, with LP ownership reaching approximately 44 percent by year two.

The fund will be renamed Strategic Storage Canada LP, and SmartStop will take over property management from Bluebird Self Storage under five-year contracts. As part of the arrangement, Bluebird is acquiring interests in several property-level partnerships across multiple Canadian provinces from the fund and other entities. Reade DeCurtins, Bluebird’s vice president, said the company would move forward independently, focused on executing its development pipeline and creating long-term value for investors through its national footprint and integrated operating platform.

The transaction requires approval under the Canadian Competition Act and is expected to close in Q4 2026, SmartStop said. SmartStop says the transaction would position it as Canada’s third-largest self-storage operator with 70 operating properties across five Canadian provinces. The deal adds Halifax, Nova Scotia and Quebec City, Quebec to an existing Canadian footprint that covered the Greater Toronto Area and two western provinces.

SmartStop’s CEO H. Michael Schwartz projected a stabilized yield above 6 percent as the portfolio leases up. Occupancy in SmartStop’s Canadian same-store portfolio rose about 75 basis points year-over-year through August 31, 2026, outpacing the trend in its U.S. portfolio over the same period.

The supply and pricing backdrop

According to a Yardi Matrix report cited by Bisnow, new self-storage supply reached about 22 million square feet in the second quarter of 2026, down nearly 19 percent from a year earlier, with new construction starts at roughly 15 million square feet, about 20 percent below 2025 levels. Yardi saw few signs of a development rebound in the second half of 2026. Yardi said tariffs, the Iran War, and the artificial intelligence buildout were continuing to combine to create elevated inflation pressures and keep interest rates elevated.

According to Bisnow, Heitman described self-storage as a “niche-to-necessity” sector in a 2025 white paper, noting that asset values had fallen 11 percent from their peaks while the sector had historically outperformed other commercial real estate through major economic downturns.

What the sources leave open

Neither the PR Newswire release nor the Bisnow report on the Andover-Heitman deal discloses the total capital committed or the purchase price for the portfolio. Both sources describe the number of properties and states covered but do not name specific markets. Neither source addresses whether the seed portfolio consists of Andover’s existing facilities recapitalized into the joint venture or properties acquired from outside owners — a distinction that separates an institutional equity restructure from a story about independent operators selling into institutional hands.

The 70-property figure for the SmartStop Canadian portfolio is in conflict between sources: ICM Bluebird’s announcement presents 70 operating properties across five Canadian provinces as SmartStop’s existing Canadian platform at the time of announcement, while SmartStop’s 8-K presents the same figure as the post-closing count. The sources do not reconcile whether the fund’s 14 properties are already included in the 70 or are additive to it.