20+ years · Canada & United States
The Urban Properties portfolio spans two decades and two countries — built through government surplus auctions, courthouse steps, tax sales, and direct acquisition of distressed and undervalued assets. The common thread is not asset class or geography. It is the ability to see value where others see complexity, and to act when institutional buyers will not.
The work has consistently focused on adaptive reuse of abandoned public infrastructure — former civic buildings, post-industrial sites, rural structures, and environmentally challenged land — repositioning them as productive assets that generate economic activity in communities that need it most.
Selected projects
30-year vacant county jail acquired on GovDeals.com. Repositioned as boutique hospitality property through vision-based hold strategy. Sold at profit to hospitality developer. The acquisition that inspired the book We Bought a Jail.
22 acres of former industrial landfill acquired and repositioned for solar energy development and environmental remediation. Aligns with federal brownfield reclamation and green infrastructure priorities.
Full structural repositioning of 3,800 sq ft Austin property involving structural modifications, municipal permitting, and full systems integration. Profitable exit independently documented by licensed architect of record.
Biohazardous retail unit in a post-industrial corridor transformed into a mixed-use income property. Secured City of Hamilton Commercial District Revitalization Grant. A documented public-private blight removal model.
"Bring flashlights" distressed mixed-use property acquired all-cash. Transformed into a multi-income stream asset leveraging grandfathered sign permits. Decade-long appreciation hold in a transitioning urban corridor.
Four 19th-century Robertson County structures acquired for rural revitalization. Vision-based remote execution in a rural historic district. Profitable exit through targeted buyer outreach.
Full restoration and structural expansion of an 1847 heritage-designated chalet, navigating complex municipal heritage guidelines and approval processes. Among the most technically demanding projects in the portfolio.
8-acre land development play in Sacramento, California. Complex entitlement and disposition process navigated across multiple stakeholders and regulatory bodies. Profitable exit achieved through strategic positioning.
3,200 sq ft East Austin property acquired at Travis County Courthouse Steps auction. Full renovation and repositioning in one of Austin's fastest-appreciating corridors. Profitable exit.
All 51 deals — the wins, the hard lessons, and the systems built in response — are documented in The Real Deal. A practitioner's playbook for finding, evaluating, and repositioning distressed and overlooked assets across North America.
Get the book →The methodology behind this portfolio is documented in a peer-reviewed paper published on SSRN: Adaptive Reuse of Abandoned Public Infrastructure as a National Economic Strategy — arguing that practitioner-led reuse of decommissioned civic buildings represents a scalable, replicable path to rural economic recovery without new public spending.