Every landlord has space that doesn’t earn. At 951 Madison Street, Gerard Real Estate had 3,500 sq. ft. of basement sitting unused under a 40-unit apartment building. The space wasn’t marketable as retail or office, yet it carried taxes, maintenance, and opportunity costs. Month after month, it dragged down building performance without contributing to revenue.

Instead of writing the space off, Gerard partnered with Stuf to put it to work. The answer was self-storage. With modular construction, upgraded lighting, access controls, and a booking system, the basement was transformed into 60 rentable storage units. The project required no major renovations and little time from ownership.

The conversion was designed to be fast, simple, and low cost:

• Scope: 3,500 sq. ft. repurposed into 60 units
• Fit-out: Modular walls, lighting, signage, and secure access controls
• Operations: Stuf managed marketing, leasing, payments, and tenant service
• Ramp-up: 90% occupancy reached within 4 months
• Buildout Cost: $25 per sq. ft. (2022)

The new storage brought in an average of $19 per sq. ft. per year. That steady income boosted NOI, which at a 6% cap rate translated to $1.1 million in added building value. What had been wasted space is now a reliable, high-margin revenue stream.

“Storage isn’t something we would have developed on our own, but working with Stuf made it seamless. What was once dead space is now generating income and strengthening the building’s overall performance.”

For Gerard Real Estate, the basement conversion proved that ancillary revenue isn’t just “extra.” With modest investment and quick execution, underused space became a $1.1M asset. For landlords facing similar idle areas, the lesson is clear: hidden value may already exist in your own building.