What if an abandoned Kmart, an empty grocery store, or an outdated warehouse could become a multimillion-dollar real estate investment?
Most investors see vacant commercial buildings as liabilities. But for the right investor, these properties can offer an opportunity to create substantial value by changing how the building is used.
In this episode, Aviva Sonenreich and Clint Harris, General Partner at Nomad Capital and co-host of the Truly Passive Income podcast, explore how investors are transforming vacant big-box retail buildings, warehouses, and other underutilized commercial properties into profitable, climate-controlled self-storage facilities.
Clint shares how his team purchased a former Kmart for $1.5 million, invested another $2.5 million in renovations, and received a $9 million appraisal after converting the property into self-storage.
The conversation also covers self-storage syndication, commercial real estate redevelopment, construction risk, capital raising, and refinancing strategies that allow investors to recover capital without necessarily selling their properties.
Whether you’re a commercial real estate investor, developer, property owner, or someone exploring passive real estate investments, this episode offers a practical look at an unconventional value-add investment strategy.
Key Topics Discussed
- Self-Storage Investing: Why vacant retail buildings and warehouses can offer attractive investment opportunities.
- Retail-to-Storage Conversions: How investors transform abandoned Kmarts, grocery stores, and industrial buildings into climate-controlled self-storage.
- Changing Asset Classes: How repositioning commercial properties can significantly increase their value.
- Adaptive Reuse vs. New Construction: Why converting existing buildings can reduce development costs and timelines.
- A $4M-to-$9M Conversion: The real investment example behind Nomad Capital’s self-storage strategy.
- Finding Profitable Locations: How residential density, traffic counts, visibility, and local demand influence acquisitions.
- Self-Storage Market Saturation: Why local competition matters more than national development trends.
- Managing Development Risk: How acquisition costs, construction delays, and operating expenses affect profitability.
- Self-Storage Syndication: How Nomad Capital raises capital and structures its real estate investments.
- Refinancing Without Selling: How stabilized properties can generate liquidity while remaining under ownership.
- Passive Real Estate Investing: What investors should understand about returns, holding periods, and investment goals.
- Building Long-Term Wealth: Why Clint prioritizes financial, time, and location independence.
About the Guest
Clint Harris is a General Partner at Nomad Capital, a real estate investment firm specializing in converting underutilized commercial buildings into climate-controlled self-storage facilities. With a background in multifamily investing, short-term rentals, and property management, Clint focuses on identifying adaptive reuse opportunities and transforming existing properties into income-producing real estate assets.
About the Host
Aviva Sonenreich is the Managing Broker and Owner of the Warehouse Hotline, a Denver commercial real estate brokerage specializing exclusively in industrial properties. She leads the firm’s brokerage operations, negotiates industrial sales and leasing transactions, advises clients on acquisition and disposition strategies, and oversees the company’s marketing and business development efforts. Through Commercial Real Estate Secrets, she interviews leading investors, brokers, developers, and industry experts to provide actionable insights on commercial real estate investing, brokerage, leasing, development, and market trends.
Looking to Buy, Sell, or Invest in Industrial Real Estate in Colorado?
The right industrial property can create significant value, but knowing what to buy, where to invest, and what to pay makes all the difference.
At The Warehouse Hotline, we help investors and business owners navigate industrial property acquisitions, investment sales, warehouse leasing, and landlord and tenant representation throughout Denver and Colorado.
Ready to make your next industrial real estate move?
