Multi-Story Storage
Vertical builds for high-land-cost markets. Elevators, interior corridors, climate-controlled by default.
Vertical where land is expensive
Multi-story self-storage produces 80,000+ rentable square feet on a single acre, making it the right format when land cost or zoning constraints rule out a horizontal footprint. Higher per-square-foot build cost is offset by the larger NRSF base on the same parcel.
We design multi-story facilities with the elevator capacity, fire suppression, and corridor width that match the unit mix. Tenant flow, freight elevator sizing, and loading dock geometry get the same scrutiny as the building shell.
One team handles design, engineering, fabrication, and construction. One contract, one schedule, one number you can hold us to.
Maximum NRSF per Acre
2 to 4 stories of rentable space on the footprint of a single-story facility. Right format for $10+/sf land.
Engineered for Storage Loads
Concrete-on-deck floors engineered for live loads of stored goods, not standard office loads.
Climate-Controlled Standard
Multi-story builds default to climate-controlled, supporting premium rental rates that justify the build cost.
Elevators Sized for Move-In
Freight elevator capacity and door size matched to expected unit mix and move-in/out flow.
Fire Suppression Integrated
Sprinkler systems engineered into the structure rather than added later, reducing cost and visual disruption.
Architectural Adaptability
Exterior treatments that meet city design standards in markets where multi-story zoning approval requires it.
Questions
Shell and doors run $65 to $110 per rentable square foot. All-in cost typically lands $100 to $180 per rentable square foot, depending on land cost, finish level, and snow load. A 50,000 RSF multi-story facility usually runs $5 to $9 million all in; a 100,000 RSF facility runs $10 to $18 million.
Two conditions both have to hold. Land cost has to be high enough that a horizontal footprint cannot deliver the rentable square footage the pro forma needs, and the trade area has to have enough demand to absorb the larger build. Multi-story produces 80,000+ rentable square feet per acre versus a single-story footprint on the same parcel.
9 to 14 months from groundbreaking to certificate of occupancy, longer than single-story because of foundation depth, elevator installation, fire suppression, and the longer punch list on an interior-corridor building. Permitting and pre-construction add another 3 to 6 months.
Most are built with it. The marginal cost is small once the building already carries elevators, fire suppression, and an interior corridor, and the 30 to 50 percent rent premium that climate-controlled units command typically more than offsets the added shell cost. Mixed-use layouts with a climate-controlled wing and a drive-up wing are common.
125 psf is the standard floor live load for the upper floors, sized for stored-goods loading. Office-grade floor systems (50 to 100 psf) are not engineered for storage and will deflect or fail under loaded units. The Wasatch standard multi-story package is engineered to 125 psf out of the box.
The Wasatch multi-story envelope covers 2 to 4 stories, with eave heights of 17 to 42 feet. Beyond 4 stories, elevator wait times during move-in and move-out start hurting the tenant experience, and structural cost per rentable foot climbs faster than rent will support in most markets.
Self-Storage projects
My Storage Charleston
Purpose-built self-storage in a high-demand Charleston corridor. 18-wheeler accessibility, on-site truck rentals, oversized doors, and a diverse unit mix designed for customers in transition, not just where they store.
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The Storage Spot
A large-format steel self-storage facility in West Valley City, Utah, designed and built by Wasatch Structures. Multi-building drive-up and climate-controlled metal buildings with boat and RV parking, engineered and erected for a dense Salt Lake Valley market under one design-build self-storage construction contract.
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My Storage Erda
A steel self-storage facility in Erda, Utah, designed and built by Wasatch Structures. Single-story drive-up metal buildings framed by the Stansbury and Oquirrh ranges, engineered and erected for the Tooele Valley under one design-build self-storage construction contract.
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