By Brad Hadfield

ike its name suggests, Surprise, Ariz., is full of them. First off, it’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, with its population projected to reach nearly 250,000 by 2030. The city is also adding 2,000 to 3,000 single-family homes each year, and major projects, such as the $65 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company site and a $7 billion mixed-use development along Loop 303, are fueling a surge in jobs and housing. Now ready to meet the needs of the community is Storelocal, a Class-A self-storage facility that came with quite a few surprises of its own.

Surprise is tucked into the Sonoran Desert, and despite the city’s growth, which pushes the horizon farther away every day, there was almost a complete lack of self-storage facilities. Barry Goldwater, Jr., a seasoned investor with a keen eye for untapped potential, spotted the 10-acre parcel with its textbook visibility and brought it to the attention of AJ Osborne, the founder and CEO of Cedar Creek, who liked what he saw. A feasibility study he commissioned sealed his interest in making a deal.

“I began looking into the area and found there was a significant mix of high-income retirees, seasonal snowbird travelers, and enthusiastic RV owners,” Osborne recalls, noting that these demographics are big users of self-storage. “Add to that the recent residential and commercial growth, and this was a prime spot for a premium, secure self-storage facility.”

Osborne also liked the property setbacks, which were minimal on three sides of the site. “This would allow for maximized building footprints along the lot lines and would give us more rentable square footage than a conventional layout could provide.”

The Cedar Creek team moved swiftly to secure the purchase, well ahead of the standard closing schedule. Once the land was secured in early 2023, plans began to take shape. The original concept was to create a three-story, 160,000 square-foot anchor building crowned by hip-roofed, sawtooth bays that would allow for easy RV maneuverability. An additional single-story build would house eight drive-up modules.

Permits to build the three-story facility were obtained, and the crew got to work pouring footings for the first building and erecting reinforced concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls. They also didn’t wait until the ribbon-cutting ceremony to begin marketing the property. Instead, they approached nearby RV dealerships right away, offering them one month of complimentary storage once the operation was open for business. This gave them early lease commitments and a big boost to their proforma. “Marrying land acquisition with proactive revenue generation is something I would recommend that any developer do,” says Osborne.

It wasn’t long before hurdles began to appear. And once one was cleared, another appeared.

Trouble began following a series of bank crashes in March 2023, beginning with California’s Silvergate Bank. The dominoes quickly fell: The collapse of another Golden State institution, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), was followed by the fall of New York-based Signature Bank. It was the perfect financial storm to give any developer nightmares. “Global interest rates surged, and there was a lot of doubt among construction lenders … underwriting turned risk-adverse almost overnight,” recalls Osborne. “This made it really difficult to get a three-story facility financed without comparable local rents.”

The team began making some quick financial maneuvers. First, they fast-tracked private equity investments from their ownership group while strengthening the capital base and reassuring lenders. Next, they established contingency funds to procure critical long-lead equipment early on, including the standard electrical system (SES) switchgear, which had a lead time of 10 to 11 months. They also conducted a value-engineering review to reduce non-essential finishes and replace the original design with simple right-angle walls and optimized structural systems. The result was millions saved without compromising the building’s overall presence.

Along with these financial maneuvers, RKAA Architects was turning the economic challenges into design opportunities. They went back to the drafting table and got inventive, knocking two floors off the original main building’s design. Then they replaced the sawtooth bays with a more economical rectangular configuration and turned a planned on-site car wash into additional storage units.

“The new design promised to deliver a leaner, more profitable and more efficient facility,” says Randy Haislet, project manager for RKAA. Despite the new design’s benefits to Cedar Creek, the city’s planning department was not pleased; they had, in fact, wanted the three-story facility as initially designed. “We had to have multiple meetings with city officials to make our case,” recalls Haislet. “It wasn’t easy, but in the end, we did get approval for the new design.”

There were still thorny civil engineering hurdles to clear before the site could take shape. As the project evolved, Tyler Paulson, civil engineer with Olsson, pushed through multiple rounds of “back-to-permit” revisions. “We had to realign water and sewer mains, reroute storm-drain piping, reposition stub-outs, and reshape grading contours to fit the new footprint,” he says. “Stormwater management was probably the trickiest task.”

Because of the facility’s long drive aisles, underground retention vaults needed to be added beneath each, with the ability to store nearly 60,000 gallons of runoff. Overflow was then directed to surface basins tucked into the western landscape buffer, adding both capacity and curb appeal along Cactus Road. Each building pad was also given a subtle rise to match adjacent grades and funnel water to catch basins, eliminating thresholds at roll-up doors. “This hybrid system met the city’s demanding drainage standards without sacrificing a smooth customer experience,” adds Paulson.

Managing the structural needs of nine buildings was no easy feat, but United Structural Design (USD), led by principal engineer David Grapsas, took it in stride. “The original design had two standout towers, each requiring precise load paths to support large window walls,” says Grapsas. “We used interior stud columns, aligned directly over reinforced footings, to ensure clean load transfer from foundation to roof and meet code requirements.”

When exterior cladding supplies (materials needed to install an outer protective layer on the building’s exterior) fell victim to global panel shortages, USD moved fast, vetting new suppliers and coordinating with Campbell Development and the project’s engineers to keep the schedule intact. Campbell Development, under the leadership of President Steve Heil, faced its own pressure point when lenders withdrew support for the three-story tower.

“We didn’t want to stall the project,” says Heil. “We secured a permit workaround, poured the footings under the original plan, then redirected crews to the single-story redesign.” His team’s quick pivot kept labor in place and the timeline on track.

At this time, the pandemic had been in full swing, and other critical components were also facing delays. In response, Campbell Development assumed a hybrid role, serving as both the general contractor and handling strategic procurement. Heil’s team renegotiated contracts with suppliers, rerouted shipments through alternative ports, and orchestrated just-in-time deliveries to ensure the construction timeline was safeguarded.

Frequent site walkthroughs by investors Goldwater Jr., Ken Picard, and Tariq Masad also kept the crew on its toes, accelerating their decisions on finishes and materials. Communication protocols evolved into a real-time, inspection-based design workflow. RFI’s were generated within hours rather than days, and when the design team altered the unit mix late in the process, drawings were modified mid-build. This agility fostered deep trust among Cedar Creek, Campbell Development, and RKAA Architects, transforming potential rework into opportunities for refinement and ensuring that each delay, rather than stalling progress, maximized innovation.

Although the facility had strong physical security, it needed a layer of digital sophistication, which it found with Janus International’s Nokē Smart Entry system. The system provides tenants with secure, keyless, and contactless access, while automated LED fixtures illuminate the way as they approach. High-definition cameras monitor every corridor, bay, and exterior area, feeding into a centralized remote-management hub that provides Storelocal operators with real-time alerts, remote diagnostics, and rapid-response capabilities once reserved for industry giants.

Marketing followed the same forward-leaning strategy. Alongside traditional direct mail, the team launched a geofencing campaign that displayed digital ads to people visiting nearby RV dealerships. By drawing a virtual perimeter around these locations, the campaign targeted likely customers on their mobile devices the moment they entered or left the area. Pay-per-click ads captured online searches, while listings across top third-party storage platforms ensured maximum visibility.

After roughly two years of challenges, teamwork, patience, and pivots, Storelocal Surprise opened its doors. The grand opening was held on March 14, 2025, drawing Surprise’s mayor, local business leaders, and more than 100 neighbors. Osborne even led a “Storage 101” educational class, an open house that offered tours, giveaways, and on-the-spot leasing incentives, which all helped to turn curiosity into tenancy by the end of the day.

Six months after opening, Storelocal Surprise has delivered on its promise. The facility offers 169,845 rentable square feet across 891 units (267 climate-controlled rooms, 624 drive-up bays, and 48 RV/boat stalls). Occupancy reached 44 percent by unit count and nearly 50 percent by square footage. Drive-up bays commanded the highest per-square-foot rates, underscoring the premium value of scarcity in the emerging market, and revenue outpaced the original proforma by an incredible 20 percent.

Tenants have nothing but good things to say about the facility, which enjoys a 5-star rating on Google and a 4.9-star rating on Yelp. Take a look at some of these accolades:

“Just rented a unit today, VERY NICE facility. Secured surroundings and having the loading dock is so wonderful and convenient!” –James D.

“Great state-of-the-art facility! I appreciated the awesome customer service from Shawn, so friendly and helpful! The units are well-lit, very secure, and easily accessible with electronic locks.” –Lila J.

“I cannot say enough good things about our experience at Storelocal Surprise. First off Shawn, the manager, was extremely helpful, transparent in communication, and personable. In addition, this facility has the best prices in town; we actually left our other unit to transfer our long-term storage here.” –Jeremy S.

The real success of Storelocal Surprise isn’t just in its architecture or smart technology—it’s in the persistence of the team that built it. Architects, engineers, and investors worked in lockstep, solving problems as they surfaced and keeping the project moving forward.

Today, Storelocal Surprise anchors the auto park along Loop 303 as a major regional landmark. The project turned mid-permit redesigns, financing curveballs, supply shortages, and shifting city mandates into steppingstones rather than setbacks. More than a place to store RVs and personal belongings, it reflects resilience, thoughtful collaboration, and long-term value for the community it serves.