Private Real Estate Investment · Self-Storage
StarMack Capital develops, acquires, and finances self-storage across the Southeast: nine sponsored projects totaling 725,000 square feet, 4 sales to institutional buyers, and more than $1 billion of construction financing arranged over founder Russell Grigg's 20+ year lending career.
The Firm
StarMack Capital provides debt, equity, and development capital exclusively within the self-storage sector. Our conviction is simple: focus compounds. Concentrating on a single asset class lets us underwrite faster, structure more creatively, and execute with the operational fluency that comes from depth rather than breadth.
Structure matters just as much: each project is owned by a standalone special-purpose entity with its own limited partners, and founder Russell Grigg serves as General Partner and Manager on every deal.
Headquartered in Celebration, Florida, and investing across the Southeast, we bring deep roots and an established track record in metro Atlanta — firsthand knowledge of local supply pipelines, municipal approval processes, and submarket demand drivers. Experienced professional operators — including Public Storage, Space Shop Self Storage, and Extra Space Storage — manage every facility across our sponsored portfolio and lending platform.
Financing volume reflects 125+ construction projects arranged since 2012. Portfolio figures as of July 2026.
Strategy
Our focus on a single asset class allows us to underwrite faster, structure more creatively, and execute with the operational fluency that comes from depth rather than breadth.
Equity investment and senior/mezzanine debt for existing self-storage facilities — stabilized assets with in-place cash flow, and value-add properties with upside through repositioning, rebranding, expansion, or management improvements.
Ground-up self-storage construction funded from site control through stabilization, partnering with experienced operators and contractors in markets with favorable supply/demand fundamentals.
Depending on the deal, we participate as a direct lender, debt consultant, equity, or joint-venture — tailoring capital structure to the sponsor's needs and the asset's risk profile, across conventional, SBA, and USDA structures.
Southeast United States, with deep roots and an established track record in metro Atlanta — firsthand knowledge of local supply pipelines, municipal approval processes, and submarket demand drivers.
$5 million to $25 million total project size, with an average deal size of approximately $15.5 million.
The Thesis
Storage demand is driven by life events such as moving, marriage, downsizing, and business growth, which is why the sector has proven resilient across all types of economic cycles. We've underwritten that resilience firsthand on 125+ construction loans as well as our own projects.
The classic drivers — relocation, downsizing, population density, and small business growth — generate demand in both expansions and recessions. Month-to-month leases allow operators to change rental rates quickly for both new and existing customers to match market conditions.
No tenant improvements. No leasing commissions. Minimal capital expenditure relative to office, retail, or multifamily. More of every revenue dollar reaches the bottom line — and the investor's distribution.
A large share of U.S. facilities is still held by independent, single-site owners. That fragmentation — paired with two decades of broker, lender, and operator relationships — creates a persistent pipeline of off-market opportunities for disciplined buyers.
Hundreds of small tenants instead of a handful of large ones. No single move-out meaningfully impacts cash flow — a diversification profile LPs and lenders rarely find elsewhere in real estate.
Track Record
Since 2012, StarMack Capital's principal has originated or sponsored over 125 self-storage construction projects. Nine sponsored directly — four developed and sold to institutional buyers, four open and operating, and one under construction — all in metro Atlanta.
Development · Sold
Canton Road · Ground-Up Development
80,000 NRSF
Opened June 2021 as Public Storage · Sold to Public Storage July 2021
Development · Operating
Rockbridge Road · Ground-Up
95,000 NRSF
Developer/sponsor · Opened May 2025 · Operating as Public Storage
Acquisition · Value-Add
Stephenson Road · Repositioning
55,000 NRSF
Acquired December 2025 · Rebranded as Public Storage and upgraded · Occupancy improved, expenses reduced, rates increased, NOI improved
Each sold asset was developed, stabilized, and sold to an institutional buyer within 18 months of opening.
A complete transaction schedule is available to qualified investors and lenders upon request →
Leadership
Founder & Managing Director
Russell is a commercial real estate lender with over 20 years of experience. He began his banking career at Wachovia Bank in 2005 and joined an Atlanta-based community bank in 2007, where he spent ten years as a commercial banker. He then transitioned to originating investment real estate loans nationwide, providing real estate debt consulting, and developing self-storage properties.
Self-storage construction lending has been a career-long specialty for Russell. He has financed more than 125 self-storage construction projects totaling over $1 billion since 2012.
Additionally, he has sponsored nine self-storage projects across metro Atlanta including ground-up developments and a value-add acquisition. Four have been sold to institutional buyers, four are open and operating, and one is under construction. Serving as General Partner on every project, Russell maintains a flawless record with zero defaults across the sponsored portfolio.
Working With Us
Each project is a standalone investment with clean structure and an experienced sponsor.
A borrower who has spent over 20 years on your side of the table — and underwrites like it.
Contact
Whether you're an investor evaluating the sector, a lender reviewing a sponsor, or an owner considering a sale — we respond personally, and promptly.
