TractIQ, ARCO/Murray Release Self-Storage Construction Cost Data

TractIQ and ARCO/Murray have partnered to release construction data covering more than 100 completed self-storage projects totaling 18 million square feet across 27 states.

The data, which spans projects completed from 2016 through 2026, includes gross and net rentable area, building form, construction schedules, site acreage, and hard construction costs. Costs are further divided between vertical construction and sitework.

The companies said the release is intended to give self-storage developers, investors, brokers, and capital providers a benchmark for evaluating construction costs during early-stage underwriting.

For projects with three stories or less, the data shows a median total hard cost of $84.23 per gross square foot and area-weighted net rentable square footage efficiency of 75 percent. Median construction duration across the data set is 11.6 months from construction start to completion.

Historically, self-storage developers have had limited industrywide construction-cost data against which to benchmark projects. Construction costs often have been based on contractor estimates, broker projections, or costs from previous developments.

The newly released data is designed to provide a reference point for early proformas, replacement-cost analysis, and checks against construction costs provided by brokers or sellers. The companies cautioned, however, that the data should not be used as a substitute for project-specific pricing.

“Construction cost has been unavailable at scale for self-storage underwriting,” said Noah Starr, CEO of TractIQ. "We owe Eric and the ARCO/Murray team real credit. They have completed hundreds of projects representing billions in hard costs, and instead of keeping that as a competitive edge, they are opening it to the industry. It means a developer can budget against what building actually costs, and an investor can finally check replacement cost against something real.”

Construction Costs and Sitework

The data indicates that construction costs for three-story-or-less self-storage projects increased significantly between 2021 and 2024. Median hard cost rose about 47 percent over that period.

For three-story projects, median total hard cost increased from $62.12 per gross square foot for projects completed in 2021 to $91.32 in 2024. The figure reached $106 per gross square foot in 2025 before falling to $84.68 in 2026, although the 2026 figure represents a partial delivery year.

The data also highlights a substantial increase in sitework costs. Across the full data set, vertical construction costs rose about 28% between 2021 and 2025, while sitework costs increased about 93%. Sitework accounted for 17.1% of total hard costs in 2025, compared with 10 percent in 2021.

On a $10 million construction project, the shift would represent roughly $700,000 moving from the building itself into sitework, according to the companies' analysis.

Construction Schedules

Construction schedules have also lengthened. Median construction duration across the data set is 11.6 months, with half of the projects completing between 10 and 12.8 months.

Projects completed from 2018 through 2021 had a median construction duration of 10.6 months, compared with 12.2 months for projects completed since then. The data indicates that roughly a month and a half has been added to the typical construction schedule and that the increase has not reversed.

ARCO/Murray President Eric Fleps said the data is intended as an initial reference rather than a replacement for project-specific construction estimates. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Noah’s team at TractIQ to give something back to the industry that has been so good to us. We hope the data is useful and helps owners, brokers, capital providers and developers with quick gut check underwriting. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that we have never built the same building twice, and building type and size can vary costs wildly, so only rely on the data for an initial smell check, then get your builder (hopefully ARCO!) involved right away as you move a development forward.”

The companies noted that factors including soils, topography, utilities, jurisdiction, unit mix, finish level and local labor conditions can have a significant impact on hard costs.

Data Availability

The full data set is available to TractIQ customers through the company's Interactive Data Hub, where it can be filtered by state, delivery type, project status, building form and cost basis. ARCO/Murray's data is also expected to be integrated into TractIQ's facility data in the coming months.

A four-page benchmark containing national figures for cost per square foot, building form, construction schedules and land efficiency is available to noncustomers without an account.