264 isn't bad at all, but dam that's deep!!! a little better than half a mile ..

i think to save on costs i would do part concrete and part just rock/gravel floor , if someone needs to just store a bay fish boat they wouldn't mind that . less cost to build (concrete)

now for your higher dollar boats , i would go concrete. a personal entry door too. the drive through is good but i would price out doors vs. solid wall on 1 side.

maybe line the back of the property with real deep back in only stalls, then do a set of drive through , then maybe back to back smaller units with single doors.

as for cleaning , do some free standing covers so that way while your washing your not getting cooked. i'd also offer RV /car trailerstorage. maximize you space/options .

more i think of that size space you have alot to work with. a good planner/designer should be able to maximize use of space/cost with good cost/return ratios.

as for gas ,mmm , don't know about that ,you then get into flammable materials etc ,whole different ballgame than offering storage. that's like wanting to have a gas station which i know absolutly nothing about .

as for climate control ,don't know how that would work seeing that it doesn't really get that cold here and if you do climate control and have for example 60 units and you have 8 or 9 unit doors open. those heaters would be non stop and natural gas isn't cheap..

Check Baja storage out of CA. on the web. The demand is for 14x40 and 14x50 enclosed with 14high by 12 wide doors. rent is 30 to 35 cents per square foot per month. Do a years lease with monthly payments or a discount for full years rent. You need at least 80 foot of drive/turnaround for a 50 ft bay. You can angle them at about 30 dregrees to cut down on lot required. Also check out Kirby Building. Land cost needs to be less than 40K per acre to cash flow.

Put fans in the eaves with a dew meter to turn them on and off. Also garage door openers save on renters flinging the doors off track and I forgot my key calls. Do the detail area as a seprate bay with floor drain and water and lease it out to a detailer. You do not want any employees on site. Self storage units do not usually require sales tax, strictly land lord/renter ond only a business lisence but not business tax.

HI MAC,

Continuing my first reply, check out this place on the Amite, 1 mile downriver from Port Vincent. It is called the Amite River Mariners Club! 19 acres, on the water, all permits in hand to build a valet service 350 boat dry stack, 20,000-sq ft clubhouse, a giant pool . http://themarinersclub.com

let me know what you think about this kind of a place. I know the guy.

We installed the keypad openers on the building in Atlanta. It worked great. Easy to reprogram for new renters.

Shuttle service for boaters. Where I keep mine charges 15$ for pickup and drop off using your truck and 30$ for theirs. You can't beat it just call when you get to the ramp and they are there in a matter of minutes.

One thing that I know we would like is if it was wide enough to work on theboat in the storage area. If you like to do your own work and if you live in a sub that does not allow you to have your boat in your driveway you have a lot of problems.

I think the drive though idea is a really good one.

I have never seen a boat put on a trailer for rack storage, did not even know that could be an option. How would you get the forks out from underneath the boat once it was put on the trailer

The land where that was going to go is for sale now.
I heard he was not doing this any more ?

They talked about the Mariners Club for forever, even advertised it like it was already built and open. Haven't heard a peep in over a year.

Do a cost vs. return anylysis per square foot. We build self storage buildings and our custmers average $.95 to $1.10 a square foot rentalable space. Just some quick math will tell you in order to store a 35 foot boat the bay needs to be 12'x 40' min which is 480s.f. At a buck foot it is a pretty hefty storage bill for it not to be at a marina. You may be better off building a mixed use with outdoor parking for the RV and Boats and some light industrial that will bring you the dollar or so a foot.

Just my worthless .02