As the supply of attractive vacant lots shrinks in a fast-growing city, creativity in the real estate industry becomes essential. One of the most powerful outcomes of this creativity is repositioning. An age-old strategy to unlock value by renovating, upgrading, or reimagining existing properties.

During my time at Beljan, repositioning became a core part of our playbook. We often found surprising value in mature neighborhoods that others had written off as fully explored or saturated. Ironically, these same areas are often gold mines poised for upside as newer neighborhoods capture the spotlight.

1: Spotting the Diamond in the Rough

Many repositioning opportunities are hiding in plain sight. Think of all the tired facades on vanilla buildings in mature neighborhoods and thoroughfares. The first filter might be: what buildings in high-demand neighborhoods make me yawn? That’s your cue to investigate.

2: Test the Feasibility

Once you’ve found a promising site, run a quick back of the napkin underwriting. Tools like Ballpark Development can help you determine highest and best use in under a minute. From there, you can export your assumptions into a detailed proforma. Be sure to cross-reference the site’s location within the city’s nodes, BIAs, or corridors. This can impact rezoning speed, permitting, or alignment with municipal priorities.

3: Assess Infrastructure Early

Overlay your planned use and design with the site’s current infrastructure. Will your concept require utility upgrades, secondary access, or new garbage pickup points? On the In the Hopper podcast, Chris Dulaba discussed how the team behind L’OCA Market in Sherwood Park repurposed a former RONA into a full-service grocery, restaurant, and café. Despite early confidence in the site's existing water services, upgrades were needed causing delays. The takeaway was to always cross-reference your design with base building services before moving too far ahead.

4: Decide How Deep to Go

Repositioning can take many forms from light cosmetic upgrades to full gut renovations. There’s no one right way. It all comes down to budget, returns, and strategy. Right now, the trend seems to favor major renovations that preserve and reveal original character. At Beljan, tenants loved the exposed brick, steel, concrete, and wood at projects like the Strathcona, OEX, and Richards Block. If your site includes heritage components, preserving elements can amplify your salability.

5: Stack the Odds with User-Driven Development

Repositioning older sites inevitably comes with risks like outdated systems, code upgrades, and remediation work that can easily derail timelines and budgets. But with the right strategy you can stack the odds in your favour.

A strong yet underutilized strategy is to involve your tenant early in the process. When the end user is brought in during the design and permitting phases, it builds confidence among all project stakeholders like banks, community members, and even contractors. This approach is most common in commercial retail, office, or mixed-use repositioning projects, though it can apply to residential developments as well. I saw this firsthand at Mill Creek West on 99 Street, where we partnered with Frank’s Community Pub during site acquisition and underwriting. The site was formerly a Catholic Social Services office, with significant structural, mechanical, and electrical challenges that became far less cumbersome with Frank’s at the table, nudging project management in the right direction. Their early involvement helped shape the vision, guide the design, and accelerate construction stabilization. Today, Frank’s has become a gamechanger for Strathcona and Mill Creek residents, attracting more businesses and energy to this underrated part of town.