Christen Bryant recently joined S3 Partners as Director of Development and Senior Project Manager, bringing 16 years of experience in underwriting, site selection and strategic development, along with an extensive background in leading substantial P&Ls, managing executive teams and driving high-profile development projects. Her career highlights include expanding a regional portfolio into a national footprint, aligning financial, operational and strategic objectives across multiple organizations.
Her leadership has also delivered transformative results across multiple divisions, including refinancing and disposing of over $35M in assets, streamlining workforce efficiencies by nearly 40% and establishing robust development and acquisition teams from the ground up. Her expertise spans commercial real estate, self-storage management and private equity development, underscored by her ability to negotiate complex deals, manage strategic business plans and oversee multimillion-dollar budgets. Toy Storage Nation is grateful Christen could spend some time to provide perspective on both self-storage and RV/boat storage in this exclusive interview.
It looks like you have a solid background in the self-storage industry. Can you tell us about how your experience will serve you well in your new role?
I’ve spent my career in almost every area of the industry, from operations to site selection and underwriting, onboarding and market analysis. I believe having experience in each area helps me to advise and work with our clients in their development journey and avoid costly pitfalls and mistakes. I’m excited to be a part of their projects from concept to onboarding and bring my knowledge to the whole process.
Can you summarize how S3 Partners serves the storage industry, especially RV and boat storage?
S3 is a full-service project management firm for the self storage and boat/RV industries. Whatever stage you are at, looking for the right project, land under contract, or in permitting, we can help to streamline your project to save time, money and remove the stress out of developing alone.
With your self-storage experience in mind, can you draw comparisons to the inception and growth of the RV and boat storage industry?
Boat and RV growth has been incredible. When I started in self storage, it was an after thought; someone had an extra wide drive aisle or a field out back that they let people park on for a fee. It was just a bit of extra income for unused space. Now, it’s an asset class! Beautiful canopies, all of the amenities; I have loved seeing the growth and look forward to more.
Which form of RV and boat storage are you seeing the most: self-storage sites adding RV/boat storage or facilities being developed that are dedicated to toy storage? How about conversions?
I definitely still see both combo sites of self storage and boat/RV as well as dedicated toy storage. As with any storage product, I think it depends on the market demand. Boat and RV absolutely gets more attention on a site now though, often a half-and-half mix with storage. I love that developers saw the demand for the product and the customers have responded that they see the value and are willing to pay for it.
What advice can you share with new developers to prepare themselves for RV/boat storage development?
Pay attention to your market and your customers. See what is already there and find out if it’s full. Don’t be afraid to call the owner of a business and talk to them. You’ll likely walk away knowing if they have excess demand and if new developments are coming to town, along with making a new friend if you want one!
What are stumbling blocks to expect in the development process?
Understand that things will always come up, but doing your due diligence from the beginning with help to avoid the most costly. Don’t skimp on doing soil studies and surveys; I’ve seen those two things kill more deals than I can count.
For those who have self-storage development under their belt, how does developing traditional storage differ from RV/boat storage?
That’s a great question. There are different aspects to it, but, like all development, it comes down to having good research and the right partners in the project. Whether it’s a project manager, design professionals, steel company or lender, all these things make a huge difference in delivering a quality project on time and budget. Thankfully, in self storage, many of these are the same for traditional or toy storage.
Any tips for streamlining the entitlement process?
Have the right team that knows how to get through entitlements efficiently. It can save you months, or even years, not to mention the cost savings.
Any tips on selecting a great location for RV/boat storage development? How about specifics on what to steer away from?
Location counts; try to get on a highly trafficked road with good soils. I know, easier said than done, but it makes all the difference in building and leasing up. Like I said earlier, find out what occupancy is like. You have to be sure the demand is there before you know if you should build and then how to design your project for optimum lease up. Do your homework.
In your opinion, what’s the best part of being involved with the storage industry and, more specifically RV/boat storage?
My favorite part is the people. I’ve met so many awesome developers that truly care about the product they produce, and it shows. Getting to help them see their vision come to life is awesome.
