When most investors think about commercial real estate, their minds go to familiar asset classes: office towers, multifamily apartments, or sprawling retail centers. Yet one of the fastest-growing, most misunderstood, and most lucrative sectors in the industry is hiding in plain sight: cold storage.
On a recent episode of The Real Finds Podcast, I sat down with Clifford Booth, Founder and CEO of Westmount Realty Capital, a Dallas-based private real estate investment firm with more than four decades of experience in industrial space and multifamily assets. Cliff is widely considered one of the early pioneers of cold storage investment, and his career trajectory offers a rare window into how opportunistic investors can spot and scale value long before the rest of the market catches on.
From Antiques to Industrial: An Unlikely Beginning
Cliff’s journey into real estate wasn’t scripted. He grew up in Montreal, where his family was in the antiques and art business. When the Booths relocated to Dallas in the late 1970s, they purchased a warehouse to house their gallery. The antiques venture didn’t succeed as hoped, but the real estate did.
“That was my first deal,” Cliff recalls. “The business didn’t go great, but the property itself performed. I paid attention to that.”
That lesson—sometimes the dirt is worth more than the dream it holds would become a guiding principle for Cliff’s career. Over time, he turned a side hustle into a full-scale platform, founding Westmount Realty Capital and building it into one of the nation’s most respected private investment firms.
The Art of Value-Add Investing
One of the consistent themes throughout Cliff’s career has been value-add investing. From day one, Westmount looked for properties with problems to solve, inefficiencies to unlock, or market gaps to fill.
Value-add strategies weren’t always popular. In the early days, much of the capital in real estate chased stabilized assets with predictable returns. But Cliff saw opportunity where others saw hassle.
“Every building is like a piece of art,” he says. “Unique, with its own flaws and beauty. The question is: can you recognize its potential and reposition it?”
That perspective led Westmount to reposition everything from modest warehouses to million-square-foot industrial properties, often creating enormous value through leasing strategies, capital improvements, or creative redevelopment.
Discovering the Cold Storage Opportunity
In the 1980s, Cliff stumbled onto a niche that would eventually become one of the hottest corners of industrial real estate: cold storage.
Faced with a vacancy in a Dallas warehouse, Westmount explored converting the property into a refrigerated facility for a food tenant. At the time, cold storage was considered obscure and risky. Yet Cliff recognized its potential and, more importantly, its staying power.
Decades later, the bet looks prescient. Cold storage has moved from niche to necessity, driven by shifts in food distribution, e-commerce grocery demand, and the growing need for resilient supply chains. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, as frozen and perishable goods became critical to global logistics.
“Cold storage isn’t just an asset class anymore,” Cliff explains. “It’s infrastructure. And it’s only getting more important.”
Why Cold Storage Is So Hard—And So Rewarding
While the rewards can be immense, cold storage is far from a straightforward play. The barriers to entry are high, the risks are real, and the costs can be staggering.
Speculative cold storage development, for instance, requires enormous upfront investment. Specialized refrigeration systems, backup power requirements, and enhanced building envelopes all add cost and complexity. At the same time, a tenant base willing to pay premiums for space is relatively narrow compared to traditional warehousing.
But where others see headaches, Westmount sees opportunity.
“The complexity keeps competition down,” Cliff says. “If you can manage construction costs, align incentives with contractors, and pick the right sites, the payoff is significant.”
The Critical Role of Site Selection
Perhaps the most important variable in cold storage success is location. Unlike traditional warehouses, which can often trade location for lower rent, cold storage is deeply tied to infrastructure.
Key factors include:
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Power: Reliable, redundant power sources are essential for 24/7 refrigeration.
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Labor: Skilled labor is required to operate highly technical facilities.
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Trucking & Logistics: Sites need direct access to interstate highways, rail, and last-mile networks.
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Infill Locations: Proximity to dense population centers reduces spoilage and enhances supply chain efficiency.
This makes infill and urban-edge properties particularly attractive. As food distribution continues to evolve, Cliff believes multi-tenant cold storage facilities will be the next big shift, allowing smaller users to access refrigerated space without committing to massive, custom-built facilities.
Industrial Real Estate’s Rise to Respect
Cliff is quick to note how far the industrial sector has come. For decades, industrial real estate was the “Rodney Dangerfield” of asset classes—it got no respect compared to flashy office towers or gleaming retail malls.
But times have changed. The rise of e-commerce, the global reorganization of supply chains, and the essential role of logistics in modern life have pushed industrial to the forefront of CRE.
“Today, industrial is the most resilient, sought-after asset class,” Cliff says. “It’s the backbone of the economy.”
Lessons for Today’s Investors
Cliff’s career offers a playbook for investors navigating today’s uncertain market. Among the lessons:
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Look Where Others Aren’t: Whether it’s cold storage in the 1980s or overlooked warehouses today, the best opportunities often start as contrarian bets.
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Respect the Details: Aligning incentives with contractors, managing insurance costs, and controlling capex are the unglamorous but critical pieces of long-term success.
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Stay Opportunistic: Flexibility matters. The ability to pivot from industrial space to multifamily, or from single-tenant to multi-tenant strategies, is what keeps a platform competitive.
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Think Like an Operator: Real estate is not just about owning, it’s about understanding how tenants use space and creating environments where they can thrive.
The Future of Cold Storage and Industrial CRE
Looking ahead, Cliff is bullish on the resilience of industrial real estate. Cold storage, in particular, still has room to run. From grocery demand to pharmaceutical logistics, the sector is no longer a niche; it’s a necessity.
Yet he’s also cautious. Costs are rising, insurance is a growing concern, and speculative development remains a high-stakes gamble. Success will hinge on finding the right sites, structuring deals carefully, and maintaining operational discipline.
For investors willing to do the work, however, the payoff could be enormous.
Final Thoughts
From antiques to industrial giants, Cliff Booth’s journey shows the power of spotting opportunity where others see obstacles. Cold storage may still be misunderstood, but pioneers like Westmount Realty Capital have proven it can be one of the most rewarding plays in the entire CRE landscape.
For brokers, developers, and investors alike, the message is clear: don’t overlook the freezer aisle of industrial real estate, it might just be the future.