860 Richmond Street
Investment Sales · Vendor Representation
A strategic pivot that beat the market
When the conventional path closes, the right move is to find another one.
860-862 Richmond Street West came to market as a fully vacant building at a difficult moment — a soft leasing environment with few users searching for space of its kind. A traditional sale to an investor or owner-user would have meant competing against a backlog of other vacant buildings, likely at a discount and on a slow timeline.
Engaged to sell the property, Aura saw the potential to think beyond a traditional commercial use. Rather than market it conventionally, we targeted hospitality prospects, whom were still active buyers in the market — an alternative use that changed the pool of interested buyers and help drive pricing through demand.
The strategy required conviction and a deep read of the market. We highlighted building attributes in conjunction with the vibrant neighborhood to show the impressive potential for hospitality, ran a targeted outreach process, found a qualified buyer, and finalized a transaction.
The result spoke for itself. The building traded ahead of many comparable vacant properties on the market, and outperformed market expectations by at least 20% — a direct result of identifying the right buyer and positioning for an alternative use.
The deal: $11.8M · November 2025
Highlights
Pivoted strategy to target hospitality buyers when traditional demand was thin
Outperformed the market by at least 20% through strategic positioning and an alternative buyer profile
Closed ahead of other fully vacant buildings competing in the market
What we did
Property valuation and pricing strategy · marketing and exposure strategy · buyer prospecting and outreach · due diligence support · financial analysis and underwriting · negotiation of offers and terms · coordination through closing · confidentiality management