It has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, declining population, and not much going for it.

One theory is that the investors see population increasing in these areas and are willing to deal with the ridiculous local laws

The Census came out and reported the first (modest) uptick in population in 2023 for the first time in nearly 70 years.

Additionally, the macroeconomics here has seen significant growth - population and jobs are both growing, and major companies started moving and developing here (Intel, Google, Amazon, FB, etc).

Research markets, consider factors like job growth, population trends, and property prices.

Indiana overall has experienced 300,000 population growth in the last year - it is the leader for the midwest. 

To protect your margins, it’s crucial to have a solid understanding of costs upfront, consider negotiating long-term prices with suppliers, and prepare for possible delays in renovation schedules.In both scenarios, it’s often safer to focus on markets with strong fundamentals (stable job market, population growth) and properties at or below the median home price in the area to appeal to a broad buyer base.

Did you do traffic studies and population analysis to verify the potential of the storage for your area?

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3FPer the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20yearSo, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

Both have cooled somewhat recently, but not enough to make a difference for Maricopa County’s population of 4.6 million, which has grown by more than 20% since 2010.