There are numerous things to know about self-storage development and construction. If you’re keen to build a storage facility, you need to create a list of the biggest considerations. Understandably, the cost of building storage units will be one of the main priorities on that list. 

You need to understand how much it can cost to construct self-storage units. In turn, this will help you figure out how many units you can fit into your budget. To help you with this, we’ll be answering the question: how much does it cost to build 100 storage units? 100 units is a good starting point - from here, you can halve the costs for a smaller 50-unit facility or work out the cost of adding more units to your building. 

With that in mind, here’s a detailed breakdown of the costs involved when fabricating 100 storage units: 

The Average Cost Of A Self-Storage Unit

Generally speaking, the costs can be anywhere between $25-$45 per square foot for single-story storage facilities. 

By contrast, this increases to $45-$75 per square foot for multi-story storage facilities. This is because you need slightly more materials because you have to factor in added stability - storage units need to be strong enough to withstand the weight of other units above. 

Keep in mind that we are only looking at the cost of building a storage unit, so this doesn’t take into account the cost of finding land, purchasing it, and getting it ready for construction. 

How Big Will A Storage Unit Be?

Those of you with keen eyes will note that we’ve mentioned the costs per square foot. This is generally how costs are calculated when building storage facilities, but what does this mean when building 100 storage units? 

Ultimately, the size of each unit will affect the overall costs. According to market research, a self-storage unit can be anywhere between 10 square feet to over 500 square feet in size. The smallest end of the scale will be the size of a small locker, so they’re unlikely to be a popular choice.

At the larger end, storage units with 500 square feet of space (or more) will be extra larger and could even fit a lorry in. Again, these are going to be rare as most storage facilities won’t have the capacity to build 100 of these. 

To make things simpler, we’ll look at the cost of 100 medium-sized storage units. This will be around 100 square feet in size - or the size of a single garage. 

How Much Does It Cost To Build 100 Storage Units?

First, we’ll take the average size of 100 square feet. From here, we will calculate the cost of one storage unit - let’s start with single-story facilities. 

The Average Cost Of 100 Units In A Single-Story Facility

The cost of making one storage unit in a single-story facility is $25-$45 x 100 square feet = $2500-$4500. 

Multiply this range by 100 and we get the cost of 100 storage units at $250,000-$450,000. 

The Average Cost Of 100 Units In A Multi-Story Facility

The same calculations can be done for multi-story units, with the average price per square foot being slightly higher at $45-$75. If we multiply this by the average-sized storage unit of 100 square feet we are left with the cost of one storage unit being $4500-$7500. 

Again, multiply this by 100 to get 100 storage units and you will be paying around $450,000-$750,000. 

Overall, this means that building 100 storage units can cost you anywhere between $250,000 to $750,000 depending on which type of storage facility you choose to make. 

Additional Storage Unit Costs To Consider

We could conclude the article here, but there are more costs to consider. This is why it’s nearly impossible to explain how much it costs to build 100 storage units. We’ve given you a very rough estimate above, but think of this as your starting point. 

Storage units can be built in many ways which can greatly affect the overall price per unit. We already spoke about size differences - if you want units that are larger than 100 square feet, you’ll pay more than the figure detailed above. If some of your units are less than that size, the overall costs go down. 

On that note, here are some other things to keep in mind when it comes to the cost of building 100 storage units: 

Storage Unit Features

First and foremost, you must appreciate that some storage units have different features from others. A prime example of this is climate-controlled storage units. Unlike standard units, these ones are built with climate control features, allowing them to regulate the temperature and air quality. As you can imagine, this has to be factored into the construction costs for your 100 units. You need to consider adding this feature to each unit - or possibly only to a handful. It depends on whether you’re making this a premium feature or wish to build a climate-controlled self-storage facility. 

Additionally, your units may have other features. Some could come with built-in CCTV cameras while others may not. You could also build specific doors for the units that have extra security technology - like a keypad or biometric lock. In all of these cases, additional features will impact the cost of each unit. Most likely, it’ll mean you’re paying more than the rough estimate provided earlier. 

Storage Unit Materials

While our estimations have accounted for different storage unit materials - like cold-formed steel or post and beam steel - we can’t cover things like material shortages. If you remember during the height of the pandemic, there were lots of material shortages. When this happens, it costs more to acquire these materials. 

Therefore, it may cost a lot more to build 100 storage units depending on how easy it is to access the materials required. Conversely, if it’s really easy to acquire the materials you need, then it may cost closer to the lower end of our estimated scale. 

Storage Facility Location

It’s also worth mentioning that the location of your storage facility impacts the cost per unit. How? Because locations can determine things like material or labor costs. As mentioned above, it could be harder to get materials in a certain location compared to others. The cost of transporting materials from across the country will be much higher than if your facility is closer to where you purchase materials from. 

It’s a similar scenario when looking at the labor costs - some parts of the country will have higher average wages than others. In one location, you may find relatively affordable laborers while another may command premium prices. We have somewhat accounted for this with the labor costs range, though we haven’t been able to cover labor shortages. If there aren’t a lot of laborers in your location, you will always end up paying over the odds. 

Land Preparation Costs

We touched upon this previously when discussing the average cost of a storage unit per square foot. All of our cost estimates will not include land preparation costs. We’ve only considered the cost of physically building a storage unit. 

Why? Sometimes you find land that’s already been landscaped and is ready for construction. Also, what if you have a storage building and want to expand it with 100 new units? You may turn a single-story facility into a multi-story one, in which case no land costs will be considered at all. 

Nevertheless, if you’re building units on land that need to be prepared, you will need to factor in the cost of doing this. 

Conclusion: How Much Does It Cost To Build 100 Storage Units?

As a very rough estimate, it will cost $250,000 to $750,000 for 100 storage units. This all depends on the type of storage facility you’re building and how big the units will be. Our calculations were based on taking a medium-sized unit of 100 square feet. If your units are twice the size, double the figure - if they’re half the size, halve it. 

Regardless, this figure still provides a good overview of how much you’ll spend on storage unit construction. What’s interesting is that the average indoor self-storage unit costs around $180 per month for someone to rent. If all 100 of your units are rented out, you’re raking in $18,000 each month - that’s $216,000 per year. Of course, you have to take other things into account - like business expenses - but it goes to show that the cost of building storage units is fairly reasonable when you see how much money can be made from them. 

As such, it’s no surprise that self-storage is a popular investment; there are some big opportunities here if you play your cards right. To get the most out of an investment, it pays to build quality storage units with great features. Make your units secure and spacious to entice customers, allowing you to fill them up and generate lots of rental income.