Shark Tank’s O’Leary shared an idea that is in line with the changing urban real estate market, where commercial vacancy rates have skyrocketed since the pandemic. The value of logistics infrastructure close to city centers has increased due to the rise in online shopping and consumer expectations for immediate deliveries. His remark highlights an increasing tendency to convert conventional places into hubs for tech-enabled micro-fulfillment. Although the first query was about condo construction, O’Leary’s response shifted the focus to revenue-generating, future-ready solutions that address modern consumer behavior and urban logistics.
“What I would do with that building because of its location is climate control storage pick and pack robotically for Amazon and some of the others that want to deliver products and services within an hour,”’O’Leary said, emphasizing the demand for rapid e-commerce fulfillment.
O’Leary’s concept is in line with the changing urban real estate market, where commercial vacancy rates have skyrocketed since the pandemic. The value of logistics infrastructure close to city centers has increased due to the rise in online shopping and consumer expectations for immediate deliveries.
His remark highlights an increasing tendency to convert conventional places into hubs for tech-enabled micro-fulfillment. Although the first query was about condo construction, O’Leary’s response shifted the focus to revenue-generating, future-ready solutions that address modern consumer behavior and urban logistics.
Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary envisions robotic warehouses in vacant urban buildings
Kevin O’Leary, one of Shark Tank’s investors, provided a practical and profit-driven viewpoint on the expanding problem of vacant commercial buildings in crowded cities. Condo conversions were mentioned in passing during the debate, but O’Leary quickly brushed that off as an unappealing financial opportunity.
“This is actually a bad idea, I wouldn’t invest in that,” he clarified, obviously diverting the discussion from residential redevelopment.
He argued in favor of changing these areas into something much more useful and in line with current economic patterns.
He pointed to the strategic benefit of location and proposed converting inner-city structures into climate-controlled, robotic warehouses to cater to businesses such as Amazon. He highlighted how robotics eliminates the constraints that are typically imposed by infrastructure layouts, like floor plans and elevator locations.
“When you go to robotics, it doesn’t matter where the elevators and stacks are,” Shark Tank’s O’Leary said.
Particularly in areas with a high population density that require speed and convenience, this approach enables efficient vertical storage and quick order processing. Shark Tank investor provided examples of how this idea is already working well in other regions of the world.
He remarked, “The Swiss are doing it with groceries now, they’re not stupid,” alluding to the country’s conversion of abandoned structures into incredibly effective automated fulfillment centers.
By satisfying the demands of quick urban delivery and doing away with the need for conventional, expansive warehouses on the outskirts of cities, these facilities can ship food and goods in as little as 45 minutes.
In the end, O’Leary emphasized that these changes provide investors with considerably higher returns in addition to meeting logistical needs.
“It now has a useful purpose, and the return for me as a real estate investor is far superior to this subpar use,” Shark Tank OG said.
His idea changes the way we think about urban emptiness by prioritizing practicality and economic feasibility over aesthetics or traditional real estate conversions.
Watch more informative videos from Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary on his official Instagram account.
Edited by Sezal Srivastava