Im not an STR SME - I would check with Mike Savage and Dan Rivers - theyre the local experts on STRs.

Local real estate agents are saying open it up still as the opening seems too small and makes the space feel cramped. 

You’ll likely need to look beyond the city limits (in areas that are still close enough to the city to benefit from its local economic tailwinds) if you want to find deals that pencil out.

This was a local buyer.  

You could get a loan from a local bank or private lender to fund it

Please message me and I can answer any questions you may have on real estate, local meetups or the local area.  

You can also do value add STR & Multi-Family Rentals by starting with distressed properties and using a bridge loan to acquire them with a lower down payment compared to a DSCR loan.Networking – Connect with local investors, wholesalers, and realtors in your target markets.

There's a local PM that I believe knows a lot of the ins and outs of this, @Drew Sygit

I say start there, exhaust your local efforts before jumping toward "shiny things" and unknown markets, persons etc.. 

@Luke Spencer I am not on the management side but I can tell you it took 2+ years to fill 300 units at one of our facilities and the other just hit 300 units in 12/13 months so it really depends on the demographics, and local housing market trend, the more people moving in and out the higher the demand for storage.I think if you're looking at a saturated market then the upfront cash to turn the warehouse into self storage is not a good idea but then again, maybe those operators are on back roads ( low visibility ) and don't push google ads well.