Marcus & Millichap closed an $8,000,000 sale of Pak-A-Nut Storage at 840 Marine Drive in Bellingham, Washington, documenting 58,410 net rentable square feet on a 5.88-acre site, per List Self Storage's transaction roundup published October 14, 2026. Public Storage took third-party management for a buyer making its first Washington self-storage acquisition.
Twenty years of family operation just met institutional underwriting 20 miles south of the Canadian border.
What Did List Self Storage Report About the Pak-A-Nut Trade?
List's October 14 snapshot is the public record for price and square footage when neither party issues a press release.
| Metric | List Self Storage (Oct. 14, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Asset | Pak-A-Nut Storage (Public Storage branded operations post-close) |
| Address | 840 Marine Dr, Bellingham, WA 98225 |
| Sale price | $8,000,000 |
| Net rentable area | 58,410 SF |
| Land | 5.88 acres |
| Vintage | Built 2006 |
| Seller profile | Private family, self-managed ~20 years |
| Manager | Public Storage (third-party for buyer) |
| Broker | Marcus & Millichap (Chris Secreto) |
List flagged more than two acres of excess land and occupancy stabilization upside, the classic value-add pitch when street rates are flat nationally but in-place rents still exceed move-in quotes in tight submarkets.
Why Would a First-Time Washington Buyer Pay $8 Million in 2026?
National advertised rates remain negative year over year. BMS Group's fall 2026 outlook pegged August asking rates down 1.9% YoY while REIT same-store revenue turned slightly positive on occupancy.
Bellingham is not Phoenix. It is a border-adjacent market with limited institutional scale and heavier climate considerations (heated and standard product both matter). The Pak-A-Nut footprint is not a 2025 lease-up special sitting next to three developers; it is a 2006 asset with expansion optionality.
Public Storage as third-party manager signals how the buyer plans to close the operational gap quickly:
- Centralize revenue management and call-center routing
- Plug into Public Storage's insurance and e-rental stack
- Avoid building a standalone platform for one Washington asset
That is the same playbook Colliers buyers use on Virginia portfolios, scaled down to a single Harbor-adjacent site.
How Does Bellingham Supply Look After September's FreeUp Opening?
Spartan Investment Group opened 541 units in North Bellingham on September 21, 2026, citing city plans for ~16,525 new housing units by 2036. Spartan's product emphasizes heated storage near Interstate 5 and Costco.
Pak-A-Nut on Marine Drive competes in a different submarket slice: older vintage, expansion land, and Public Storage operating discipline rather than a grand-opening marketing blitz.
List's October roundup also included Pedron's Auto Boat and RV Storage in Vancouver, Washington, at $5,520,000 (80,824 square feet, 275 vehicle spaces) through the same Marcus & Millichap broker (Chris Secreto). The Pacific Northwest is seeing vehicle storage liquidity alongside traditional NRSF trades.
What Does an $8 Million Price Imply on 58,410 Square Feet?
Simple math puts the headline near $137 per net rentable square foot on reported NRSF, before closing adjustments, capital expenditures, or occupancy haircuts.
Buyers in October 2026 are not paying that number for in-place yield alone. They are buying:
- Management arbitrage (family ops to Public Storage systems)
- Land optionality (2+ excess acres)
- Geographic footprint (first Washington asset for platform expansion into Cascadia)
Institutional firsts matter for fundraising narratives. A GP that can show a Washington closing unlocks broker relationships in Seattle-Tacoma and Vancouver BC feeder markets.
The Numbers Worth Writing Down
- Price: $8,000,000 (List Self Storage, Oct. 14, 2026)
- NRSF: 58,410 on 5.88 acres
- Implied $/NRSF: ~$137 on headline figures
- Vintage: 2006 build
- Seller tenure: ~20 years family self-management
- Manager: Public Storage (third-party)
- Expansion land: >2 acres excess per List
- Border context: ~20 miles south of Canada
- Broker: Marcus & Millichap, Chris Secreto
Family Exits Still Clear When Platforms Show Up
The Pak-A-Nut trade is not a REIT balance-sheet headline. It is the middle market reality List Self Storage captures every week: anonymous institutional buyer, branded third-party manager, disclosed price, undisclosed cap rate.
October's Bellingham story is two-speed: Spartan builds heated Class A on I-5; a family seller recycles Marine Drive into Public Storage systems with land left over.
For operators watching James City County deny storage on traffic grounds the same week, Bellingham is the reminder that deals still close where expansion land and professional management can replace twenty years of mom-and-pop leakage.
Sources
- Weekly Self Storage Transaction Roundup: 10/01/26 – 10/13/26, List Self Storage, October 14, 2026