Phoenix metro self-storage supply is not thin. List Self Storage's May 2026 transaction roundup pegged the market at 9.6 square feet per capita, well above many coastal metros. That did not stop Tempe Choice Self Storage from closing off-market on May 4, 2026, at pricing The Gorden Group said exceeded market expectations. The 1983-vintage facility at 1700 East Curry Road and 816 North Scottsdale Road spans 47,575 rentable square feet in 391 units on 4.35 acres, and it traded at 78% occupancy.
The buyer was not named in the public release. The seller was represented by Jeff Gorden and Alyssa of The Gorden Group. The deal is a data point, not a headline grabber: no REIT logo, no nine-figure price tag. It is exactly the kind of trade that tells you where acquisition appetite actually sits in mid-2026.
Why Did an Off-Market Tempe Asset Draw Competitive Bids?
The Gorden Group marketed Tempe Choice without a broad auction. The firm cited direct industry relationships and strategic buyer targeting as the process driver. Inside Self-Storage's May 2026 acquisitions roundup listed the transaction alongside institutional trades, confirming the closing date and buyer interest despite limited public marketing.
Location explains part of the bid stack. The property sits in an established infill corridor near Arizona State University, downtown Tempe, and Scottsdale. List Self Storage noted that university-driven and tourism-oriented demand continued to support May 2026 deal flow even in supply-heavy Sun Belt metros. A 1983 asset at 78% occupancy is a classic value-add profile: lease-up room, rate optimization potential, and a site where new development faces zoning and land constraints.
Jeff Gorden framed the outcome in the May 18, 2026 announcement:
This sale demonstrates the continued strength of investor demand for well-located self-storage assets in high-barrier urban markets. By leveraging our relationships and maintaining a disciplined transaction process, we were able to deliver an exceptional outcome for our client while ensuring a seamless experience from start to finish.
- Jeff Gorden, Principal, The Gorden Group
The seller, identified only as "SB" in the release, credited weekly updates and buyer-seller coordination that eliminated the need for direct contact between principals. That process detail matters for operators considering off-market exits: disciplined communication can compress friction even when occupancy is not stabilized.
How Does Tempe Fit the May 2026 Acquisition Map?
Tempe Choice sits in the same month as record-scale trades and portfolio reshuffles. Premier Storage Investors paid roughly $50.7 million for a six-story Bellevue, Washington, tower. National Storage Affiliates sold three Arlington, Texas, SecurCare facilities totaling 80,216 rentable square feet to BreakChain Capital Investments ahead of the pending Public Storage merger. Extra Space Storage acquired a 2022-built, 30,300-square-foot facility in Henniker, New Hampshire.
The through-line is selective pricing, not uniform volume. Buyers paid for scarcity (Bellevue, Newbury, Massachusetts), operational clusters (Arlington), or recent vintage and remote-management readiness (Henniker). Tempe adds a fourth bucket: Sun Belt infill with explicit lease-up upside in a market where headline supply statistics look intimidating.
Marcus & Millichap's May 4, 2026 sale of The Storage Place in Fort Wayne, Indiana, offers a useful contrast. That 423-unit, 45,950-square-foot property sold to Indiana LLCs with brokers citing improved Q1 REIT fundamentals and below-market rent upside. Midwest value-add and Phoenix infill value-add rhyme operationally even when supply per capita readings diverge sharply.
What Should Buyers Underwrite at 78% Occupancy in Phoenix?
Start with the occupancy gap as revenue, not stigma. Seventy-eight percent physical occupancy on 391 units implies roughly 86 vacant units if no overlap with unavailable inventory. In a corridor anchored by ASU and high daytime traffic counts, the question is whether vacancy is rate-driven, product-mix-driven, or marketing-driven. StorTrack data cited in List Self Storage's May 13-19 transaction report flagged Phoenix metro supply at 9.6 square feet per capita; new deliveries in suburban nodes can pressure street rates even when infill sites hold share.
Underwrite capex and revenue management together. A 1983 build likely needs unit mix review, gate and access upgrades, and web-rate alignment with competitors within a three-mile radius. The seller's operational story is unknown from public documents, but 78% occupancy in May, heading into peak leasing season, suggests either intentional hold-down for renovation or competitive pressure from newer product nearby.
Compare exit paths. Off-market sales work when the buyer pool is pre-qualified and the asset story is simple. Tempe Choice's story is simple: infill, university adjacency, lease-up. If your firm cannot close lease-up within 12-18 months at current rate levels, pass. If you can, the Gorden Group's "above market expectations" result implies pricing already embeds partial credit for that execution.
What Does Off-Market Momentum Signal for Sellers?
The Gorden Group published a May 14, 2026 blog post on off-market deals "making a comeback" in self-storage and RV/boat storage. Whether the format is cyclical or structural, May 2026 delivered multiple examples: Tempe Choice, Northeast portfolio trades, and brokered dispositions that never hit a wide auction portal.
For owners, the lesson is relationship and narrative. Tempe's seller praised proactive communication; Gorden cited disciplined process. Neither mentioned a bidding war headline. Off-market does not mean discounted. It means the right buyers saw a credible story before the market saw a tired listing photo.
The Numbers Worth Writing Down
- Closing date: May 4, 2026 (The Gorden Group announcement, May 18, 2026)
- Rentable square feet: 47,575 across 391 units on 4.35 acres (189,361 square feet total site)
- Year built: 1983; addresses: 1700 East Curry Road and 816 North Scottsdale Road, Tempe, Arizona
- Occupancy at sale: 78% (seller release and List Self Storage / StorTrack transaction log)
- Phoenix metro supply context: 9.6 square feet per capita (List Self Storage, May 2026)
- Process: off-market; pricing described as above market expectations (The Gorden Group)
- Broker: Jeff Gorden, The Gorden Group (Argus Self Storage Advisors affiliate per List Self Storage)
Infill Still Beats Averages
Sun Belt supply statistics are real. They are also blunt. Tempe Choice traded because a specific site near ASU offered operational upside that a metro-wide square-foot-per-capita figure cannot capture. Off-market execution helped, but location and lease-up potential drove the result.
For acquirers, the deal is a reminder that May 2026's acquisition market rewards execution stories, not just scale. For sellers, it confirms that you do not need a trophy asset to achieve a premium outcome when occupancy leaves room for a buyer's business plan to work. The industry is not uniformly soft. It is selectively bid.
Sources
- The Gorden Group Closes Off-Market Sale of Tempe Choice Self Storage in Tempe, AZ, The Gorden Group
- Self-Storage Acquisitions and Sales: May 2026, Inside Self-Storage
- Recent Self-Storage Transactions: 05.13.2026 – 05.19.2026, List Self Storage
- Marcus & Millichap Brokers Sale of 423-Unit Self-Storage Property in Fort Wayne, Ind., Marcus & Millichap
- Sales & Acquisitions, Modern Storage Media