About Us

Boardwalk Development Group (BDG) is focused on self storage and Boat & RV acquisitions and development opportunities in the Southeast. BDG has 3 three lines of business:

•  Ground-up Development
•  Value-add Acquisitions and Expansions
•  Self Storage and Boat & RV Storage Acquisitions

BDG’s primary markets are Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama. The company has developed a strong and significant track record as a disciplined, hands-on Operator, with over 95 combined years of real estate knowledge, expertise, and experience.

BDG is currently ranked among the Top 50 operators in the industry. 

History

While running his hedge fund, Insight Capital, Boardwalk CEO Raj Sheth discovered that self storage was the best performing asset class in commercial real estate for 20 years in a row. Intrigued, he began researching everything he could find about the industry, and learned that it is a highly profitable and stable cash flow business with strong demand drivers and significant industry fragmentation. Self storage was relatively easy to understand, did not require a lot of manpower (employees), assets were available at reasonable prices, and the market was consolidating. 

So, in December 2007, not having owned, operated or underwritten self storage before, Raj acquired his first property in Canton, GA. He acquired his second property in September 2008, one month before the start of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). By that time, Raj had already amassed a portfolio of retail and office assets. He went through the downturn with two portfolios: 1) Self Storage, 2) Retail and Office. 

His two self storage assets weathered the effects of the downturn well. Demand came roaring back when the economy picked up and valuations grew as well. Raj was successful in selling the two properties to National Storage Affiliates (NSA), one of the publicly held self storage REITs, in 2015 for a 210% (2.1x MOIC) return. The experience proved to him that the investment opportunity in self storage was real.

In 2016, Raj founded Boardwalk Development Group (BDG), and began acquiring self storage properties in the southeast US, with a vision to consolidate the industry by acquiring and developing multiple assets, adding value and then selling them in large portfolios. The firm grew quickly and Raj began expanding his team to keep up with the growth. Between 2016 – 2021, BDG raised $35M in Equity, acquired 24 self storage properties and developed 2 from the ground up. 

By 2022, 24 of the 26 properties had been improved, expanded and sold, resulting in a strong track record of a 17-year average 39% IRR and a 3.0x MOIC (300% ROI). 

Beginning in 2022, BDG’s team began a series of ground-up developments and conversion projects. The company has thus far closed on 7 development projects, averaging approximately 100,000 Sqft each, and currently has 6 more projects in its pipeline. 

BDG is currently ranked among the Top 50 operators in the industry. The company has plans to develop and acquire an additional 20-25 properties over the next 2-3 years.