Real-Estate Entrepreneur Bets RV Storage Is The Next Big Thing

Thousands of recreational-vehicle owners are hitting the road this summer. Gary Wojtaszek’s new business is about what happens to them when they get back.

The real-estate entrepreneur, best known for building and selling a data-center company for about $15 billion this year, has a new niche commercial-property business. This one focuses on storing recreational vehicles, or RVs, when they aren’t in use. RV sales boomed during the pandemic as people opted for vacations that allowed for social distancing.

Mr. Wojtaszek and his capital partner, the private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP, have created RecNation RV & Boat Storage. The company owns 31 properties in Texas, Florida and Arizona that store fleets of RVs, plus boats, all-terrain vehicles and other leisure-time equipment.

RecNation has signed contracts to acquire another 10 locations in the next six weeks, Mr. Wojtaszek said, and will spend about $300 million once the current deals in the pipeline close. He hopes eventually to expand to as many as 400 properties by acquiring small operators.

[...]

RV manufacturers such as THOR Industries Inc., Winnebago Industries Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway’s Forest River RV shipped over a record 600,000 vehicles in 2021. This year is on track to be the second-biggest year with more than 500,000 unit shipments, according to the RV Industry Association.

[...]

Read the full article from The Wall Street Journal here.