Marcus & Millichap closed the sale of Covered Up Storage in Lexington, South Carolina, on May 29, 2026. The buyer acquired 80,604 rentable square feet at 95.2% physical occupancy, a unit mix that blends traditional self-storage with covered vehicle parking, and city approval to add another 25,000 square feet without restarting the entitlement clock. Cameron Bradford and Stacey Gorman exclusively marketed the asset for seller Covered Up Storage LLC and procured the buyer.
The trade is not a trophy portfolio or a distressed handback. It is the kind of mid-market deal that still defines self-storage liquidity in mid-2026: a recent-vintage suburban asset with hybrid revenue streams, expansion optionality, and occupancy that proves the submarket absorbs product.
What Did the Buyer Get in Lexington?
The facility at 1734 W. Main Street sits on 7.95 acres in Lexington, part of the Columbia metropolitan area and one of South Carolina's faster-growing suburban corridors. Construction phases completed in 2020 and 2022. The unit mix breaks down as:
- 95 drive-up storage units
- 149 covered RV and boat parking spaces
- 4 office and flex suites
- 248 total rentable positions across 80,604 net rentable square feet
Physical occupancy stood at 95.2% at closing. The site is entitled for 25,000 additional rentable square feet, giving the new owner a growth path without a new zoning cycle.
Proximity matters for underwriting. The property sits near multiple apartment complexes and a Food Lion-anchored center with Dunkin', Taco Bell, and Cookout. Major employers in the trade area include Lexington Medical Center (Lexmed Inc.), Michelin North America's tire operations, and Walmart.
Covered Up Storage attracted significant interest from local, regional and national investors due to its strong occupancy, expansion potential and unique mix of self-storage and covered RV/boat parking. The combination of stabilized cash flow and the ability to add additional rentable square feet created a compelling opportunity in one of the fastest-growing markets in South Carolina.
- Cameron Bradford, Associate Director, Investments, Marcus & Millichap (Charleston office)
Inside Self-Storage included the transaction in its June 2026 acquisitions roundup, confirming the deal's place in a month when capital also flowed to U-Haul's State College buy, Merit Hill's $12.35 million Westborough trade, and Andover Properties' Garner, North Carolina expansion.
Why Does the Hybrid Unit Mix Matter in 2026?
Lexington is not a Sun Belt oversupply headline market like Phoenix or Tampa. It is a secondary Southeast submarket where household growth and limited new deliveries support stabilized occupancy. The Covered Up trade shows what buyers will still pay for in that profile: not just boxes, but covered vehicle storage that commands separate rate cards and attracts a tenant base less sensitive to apartment square footage.
The 149 covered parking spaces are not filler. Institutional capital has spent 2026 underwriting RV and boat storage as its own product category, with dedicated coverage of parking-heavy assets trading at premiums to pure drive-up facilities. Covered Up packaged both revenue streams on one parcel with shared gate infrastructure and management overhead.
The four office-flex suites add commercial income that diversifies the rent roll beyond 10x10 units. Flex demand from small contractors and e-commerce shippers has held up even as residential move-in rates softened nationally.
Where Does 25,000 Square Feet of Entitled Expansion Fit?
Approved expansion land is the quiet value driver in mid-2026 acquisitions. National supply forecasts still show completions rolling through Sun Belt metros, but entitlement timelines in many municipalities have stretched to 18 months or longer. Buying a site that already cleared additional density lets the new owner phase construction when street rates recover without racing a zoning calendar.
Twenty-five thousand square feet on 7.95 acres is meaningful but not reckless. It suggests room for another climate-controlled building or additional covered parking without maxing out the parcel. The seller captured stabilized yield on the existing improvement. The buyer paid for a second act.
Bradford's quote about local, regional, and national interest is the other signal worth noting. When a Lexington suburban asset draws national bidders, the bid pool is deeper than brokers assumed in 2024. Deal volume is still below peak, but quality hybrid product with occupancy above 95% is clearing.
The Numbers Worth Writing Down
- Sale date: May 29, 2026 (Marcus & Millichap announcement)
- Address: 1734 W. Main Street, Lexington, South Carolina
- Rentable square feet: 80,604 across 248 units on 7.95 acres
- Physical occupancy at sale: 95.2%
- Vintage: Built 2020 and 2022
- Unit mix: 95 drive-up, 149 covered vehicle spaces, 4 office-flex suites
- Expansion entitlement: 25,000 additional rentable square feet approved
- Brokers: Cameron Bradford (associate director) and Stacey Gorman (senior managing director), Marcus & Millichap Charleston office
- Seller: Covered Up Storage LLC
Hybrid Product Still Clears When the Spreadsheet Works
Covered Up Storage is not a billion-dollar headline. It is proof that May 2026 buyers will still compete for recent vintage, high-occupancy assets with vehicle storage and expansion upside in growing Southeast submarkets. The Lexington trade rewards operators who built hybrid product on entitled land during the 2020-2022 construction window and punishes sellers who wait for 2021 cap rates to return.
The next owner inherits 95% occupancy, covered parking cash flow, and 25,000 square feet of growth runway. In a sector still debating whether stabilization or recovery comes first, that is a better hand than most assets on the market this month.
Sources
- Marcus & Millichap Brokers Sale of Self-Storage Facility in Lexington, South Carolina, Marcus & Millichap
- Self-Storage Real Estate Acquisitions and Sales: June 2026, Inside Self-Storage
- Sales & Acquisitions, Modern Storage Media