Secure and Simple: North County’s Refuge Vault offers state-of-the-art vault storage solutions

When First Republic Bank officially shut its doors in early 2023, senior banker Daniel Schroeder knew his time with asset management was not nearly over yet.

Rather than dwelling on the loss of one of San Diego’s most beloved banking sites, Schroeder and a team of past colleagues and clients opened up Refuge Vault in the Del Mar area, a secure storage space for physical goods.

“A few months after the collapse, we decided we wanted a way to turn a negative experience into a positive. We began putting a lot of effort and time into this,” Schroeder explained.

While Schroeder always knew in the back of his mind he wanted to create a space like Refuge Vault, it was not until he was out of the throws of banking that time opened up to truly invest.

“After working across several banks, I noticed that when a location had safe deposit boxes, clients were often on a waiting list, with lots of people looking to have their own physical space. At the same time, a lot of banks are moving away from having physical locations and moving digital,” Schroeder said. “I really wanted to fill that unmet need, but it was very hard to do on top of our day-to-day jobs. When First Republic Bank shut down, we had time to dig into building a very high-end and secure facility.”

Around a year ago, the building process for Refuge Vault began. With a high security system for asset protection, clients can store any item they wish. From luxury purses to important documents and family heirlooms to photographs, there is no limit for what a person can use their storage space for.

The vetting process for entering Refuge Vault and renting out a spot is carefully thought through, ensuring fellow space holders are secure in their storage.

“We only allow people to enter the facility by appointment. When people schedule an appointment, we do a light background check to ensure we are comfortable bringing them in. From there, they receive a one-time access code to enter the space. They can confirm their identify by palm scanning or a valid driver’s license. From there, we lead them through the vault door and into the stage space and viewing rooms,” Schroeder said.

Within Refuge Vault, customers are met with an unassuming yet comfortable lobby space. Beyond a set of secure doors, there are two viewing rooms that can be used to handle items outside of the vaults, with no surveillance cameras. Past the official vault system, storage boxes spaces line two walls, varying in size and each with their own unique key lock.

“There has not been any detail that is overlooked. Coming from several banks known for giving high-end concierge service, we wanted to carry that level of expertise over here,” Schroeder explained.

With most clients renting spaces on an annual basis, the reason for storing items can range greatly. From a spot to tuck away valuables while moving to heirloom storage, the reasons are endless.

“We even have people store items when they have a roommate or house guests they don’t know if they can fully trust,” Schroeder explained. “Or maybe you want paintings or other damageable items out of your home while you have construction. These types of storage options would typically be around six or so months, but ultimately people can store indefinitely.”

Aside from items with high monetary value, the idea of an unreplaceable keepsake is enough to consider extra cautions, Schroeder said.

“In my case, I don’t have a ton of highly expensive items, but I do have family heirlooms that have been passed down by grandparents, and they are not replaceable. For every family it is different on what they feel is most important,” Schroeder said.

Among various reasons, natural disasters and burglary are other top issues leading people to use a space like Refuge Vault, Schroeder explained.

“Unfortunately, we see examples of people having very nice safes in their home that they thought were secure. Either they get destroyed in fires or, even in some of the gated communities around here, burglars are able to get past them. We have seen countless examples of that over the past year and, sometimes, simply not having items in your home is helpful,” Schroeder said.

For items of high value, several insurance companies work hand-in-hand with Refuge Vault, offering extra coverage.

“If you keep your items in a reviewed and approved facility, like ours, there are some insurance savings you can get,” Schroeder said.

In addition to physical storage spots, Refuge Vault’s staff are trained to set up Presidio storage, a digital vault platform for paperwork, passwords and other valuable electronic items.

“It is a large digital platform where you can store things that do not need physical space. Examples are estate planning documents, bank information, passwords. We can help clients get set up so that they can store and ultimately share with family members,” Schroeder explained.

As Refuge Storage continues to grow, Schroeder and his team are eager to offer secure space for any client and any item.

More information on storage solutions, pricing plans and Refuge Vault can be found at www.refugevault.com. Refuge Vault is located at 2683 Via de la Valle, Suite K,Del Mar, 92014. Phone: 858-252-2750, email: info@refugevault.com.