A designated space in the home for a man cave or she shed, has become more and more popular. A new storage facility in Ft. Myers has taken that concept to the level of luxury.
Co-owner of Island Storage Suites, Scott Allan, says all 24 of their car condos, have been sold. Most units measure 30 by 50 feet and are built a foot above FEMA's base flood requirement. Allan says, "Understanding the contents that's going to be stored in this facility with all the current owners and the millions of dollars in property, we raised it outside of a flood zone."
A concept popular in parts of the Midwest and in some northern states, Allan and his business partner thought there might be a need in Southwest Florida. He says, "I understand there's a lot of snowbirds who own several cars up north in their primary homes and can't bring them here, enjoy them down here because they have a two car garage at their condo." Arlen Johnson can attest to that statement. He says, "At our condo, I only have one parking spot underneath the building. We have three vehicles so I'll be storing vehicles over here. Get them out of the sun."
Allan says there's a lot more to the space than just a place to park your car. He says, "You can have your parties and as you can see, the 120 inch screen up there, you could have your friends on game day, really have a good time with your car, or watch the game or do a little bit of both." He adds, "You can park your toys. You've got cable and Wi-Fi access, air-conditioning. We got all the amenities for everybody with car wash stations on the side, fully gated. Uber security cameras so definitely high end storage."
The basic unit comes with a choice of apoxy floors, paint color on the walls and air conditioning. Allan says, "At that point, they're responsible for the utilities. Other than that, they can build a mezzanine. They can build a bathroom, kind of a la carte it as much as they want."
The price for such a unit is in the luxury range. Rather than first time buyers, Allan admits his customers have mostly been people with a disposable income or former business people that were successful in their career. He says, "This is ideal for the retired car owner who is a car enthusiast or entertainment enthusiast."
Developers recently broke ground on Phase 2 of the next set of units. For more information, click here.
