Alternative Real Estate Assets: What you need to know.

Why “Infrastructure on Dirt” Is the New Cash‑Flow Class

The common thread with these assets is simple: you’re monetizing attention and energyon top of land you already own. EV chargers convert dwell time in parking lots into charging fees and extra retail sales, rooftop solar turns unused roof space into rent and lower utility bills, and naming rights sell the story and visibility of a building, stadium, or district. For owners who think beyond traditional rent, these layered revenue streams can push effective yields far above what the underlying property alone would support. As you put it in one of our internal strategy sessions, “If the land is already paid for, every new bolt you add that creates a utility bill, a charging session, or a headline is basically found money.”

“The future of real estate isn’t just square footage—it’s how many electrons, eyeballs, and brand impressions you can run through a site,” says broker Bob Waun. “Assets like EV chargers, solar roofs, and naming rights let you monetize those flows without adding tenants or toilets.”

EV Charging Stations: Turning Parking Lots into Power Plants

Global EV sales hit record highs in 2024, and REITs, shopping centers, and multifamily owners are racing to install charging infrastructure because it attracts higher‑value tenants and creates new recurring revenue. Property owners can earn income directly from session fees, idle fees, and subscriptions, or receive lease payments from third‑party operators who install and run the chargers. Studies for retail properties show that when you include extra in‑store spending from EV drivers who linger while charging, station profitability can more than double, turning what started as an amenity into a true profit center. As new building codes increasingly mandate EV‑ready parking, sites that are already built out with charging are also seeing higher asset values and stronger leasing demand.

Rooftop Solar Leases: Monetizing the Fifth Façade

Rooftop solar has scaled dramatically—U.S. rooftop generation has grown roughly 10x over the last decade, and commercial roofs are still underutilized compared with homes, which leaves significant upside for warehouse and big‑box owners. In a classic rooftop‑lease structure, a solar developer rents the roof, installs and owns the panels, and sells power back to the grid, while the building owner earns new rental income plus discounted electricity via a power‑purchase agreement. Well‑structured systems can cut building electric bills by up to 95% and reduce grid reliance by as much as 80%, effectively boosting net operating income without adding a single parking space or tenant suite.

Bob Waun summarizes it this way: “The roof used to be a cost center—just insurance and leaks. Solar turns it into a check that shows up every month, and in a capital stack, that extra NOI gets a big multiple.”

Naming Rights: Selling the Story, Not the Seats

At the marquee end of the spectrum, naming‑rights deals show how powerful brand impressions on real estate can be. Valuation firms estimate that top‑tier stadium naming rights can generate up to €30 million per season (over $32 million), with the combined naming value of major European clubs alone topping €300 million per year. Sponsorlytix data suggests some of the largest global deals—such as Crypto.com Arena, BayArena, and SoFi Stadium—pay $30–35 million annually, often on 20‑year contracts that rival broadcast rights in financial impact. While most owners won’t land a $30‑million‑a‑year contract, smaller arenas, convention centers, districts, and transit hubs are increasingly cutting seven‑ and eight‑figure, multi‑year naming deals that sit on top of their regular rent roll. For investors, that’s effectively a long‑term, marketing‑backed income stream secured by the visibility and foot traffic of the asset itself.

Why These Alternatives Belong in a Modern Real Estate Portfolio

What makes EV charging, rooftop solar, and naming rights compelling is their capital‑light, modular nature. You can bolt them onto existing holdings, structure them as long‑term leases or revenue‑share agreements, and in many cases pass the operating risk to specialized partners. They also align perfectly with ESG and decarbonization mandates: EV infrastructure and solar reduce emissions, while naming‑rights partners frequently bring capital in exchange for association with “green” and community‑oriented projects. For owners and funds willing to think creatively, these assets can transform a stable—but plain—property into a stacked‑income platform with multiple, diversified cash flows.

Or as Bob Waun puts it: “The next decade of real‑estate alpha is in the weird stuff bolted onto boring buildings. Chargers, panels, signage, rights—these are the slices of cash flow that most underwriting models still treat as ‘other,’ and that’s exactly where the opportunity lives.”