SELECTED TRANSFORMATIONS
Selected Transformations
A chronology of projects that shaped how I think about restoration, transformation and value creation; across businesses, real estate, development and hospitality.
The Pattern
The asset changes. The pattern doesn’t.
I look for what an asset could become, identify what is structurally preventing that potential from emerging, and build the path between the two. Sometimes that means restoration. Sometimes repositioning, operational redesign or starting again from the foundations. The objective remains the same: create enduring value by making the underlying structure work.
A chronology of transformation
Laser Inc. Amsterdam
Amsterdam · 2008–2015
Prinsengracht 733, Amsterdam
Amsterdam · acquired 2014
Lockmaster house, Veere
Netherlands · 2018–2022
Ecoral, Manzanillo
Costa Rica · 2022–2024
Almonds & Corals, Manzanillo
Costa Rica · 2023–2026
Caribbean Hill Villas, Playa Cocles
Costa Rica
LASER INC. · AMSTERDAM · 2008–2015
Laser Inc.
Build · Specialize · Exit
Context
Founded as a specialist cosmetic laser clinic with an initial focus on tattoo removal, at a time when cosmetic laser technology was still an emerging field.
Intervention
Built the business from the ground up while developing deep technical expertise in laser technology. Trained with laser manufacturer Asclepion in Germany, expanded the clinic into additional laser applications, and later represented the manufacturer at international industry trade shows.
Outcome
Built, positioned and successfully exited the business in 2015.
PRINSENGRACHT 733 · AMSTERDAM · ACQUIRED 2014
Prinsengracht 733
Heritage Restoration · Repositioning · Exit
Context
After several residential renovation projects, I was ready for something more complex: a true restoration.
In 2014, I found it at Prinsengracht 733, a historic canal house in the heart of Amsterdam. The building had extraordinary character, but transforming it into a contemporary residence meant working within the constraints of one of the world’s most protected historic environments.
Intervention
I immersed myself in Amsterdam’s UNESCO heritage framework, restoration requirements and available subsidy structures, then led the project from acquisition through stripping, restoration and repositioning.
The objective was never to modernize away its history. It was to preserve what made the building irreplaceable while making it work beautifully as a contemporary home.
Outcome
The restored property became a distinctive modern canal residence, combining historic architecture with contemporary living.
It was ultimately sold for more than twice its original acquisition price.
VEERE · NETHERLANDS · 2018–2022
Veere
Lockmaster’s House · Veere
Structural Restoration · Heritage · Repositioning
Context
In 2016, while cycling outside Veere, I found an abandoned historic building almost disappearing into its garden. The property had been neglected for years and was burdened by structural problems and a complicated acquisition process. There was interest, but the uncertainty kept buyers away.
I saw something worth restoring.
It took nearly a year to resolve the acquisition process and secure the property.
Intervention
The restoration became a multi-year project. I assembled a specialist team, led by an experienced regional architect, and approached the building in phases: stripping the structure, asbestos remediation, permitting, foundation engineering and ultimately full restoration.
The defining challenge was structural. The building had sunk substantially into the ground and had never been supported on piles. Working with structural engineers and a specialist foundation contractor, we lifted the entire building approximately 30 cm, stabilized and straightened it, and created the foundation from which the restoration could proceed.
Only then did we rebuild.
Outcome
Between 2018 and 2022, the deteriorated structure was transformed into a fully restored, distinctive heritage residence, preserving the architecture that made it irreplaceable and creating a contemporary trophy property.
ECORAL · COSTA RICA · 2022–2024
Ecoral
Master Planning · Development · Permitting
Context
After years of restoring existing properties, Ecoral presented a different challenge: creating the structure from the beginning.
In 2022, I joined the development of a new eco-residential project on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, within the sensitive natural environment of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge.
Intervention
Led the master planning and design coordination of the development, translating the vision for low-density tropical living into a workable site plan.
Coordinated the architectural and technical disciplines, infrastructure planning and building-permit process, working within the environmental and regulatory constraints of developing in a protected coastal setting.
The challenge was not simply to design what could be built, but to determine what should be built within the landscape.
Outcome
Created the master planning and development framework required to move Ecoral from concept toward an executable residential project, establishing the spatial, architectural and permitting foundation for its development.
ALMONDS & CORALS · COSTA RICA · 2023–2026
Almonds & Corals
Asset Transformation · Hospitality · Value Creation
Context
In 2023, I took on the transformation of Almonds & Corals, an established eco-hotel on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast whose physical product, operating structure and commercial performance no longer reflected the potential of the asset.
This was no longer simply a restoration project. The building, guest experience, team, operating model and economics all had to move together.
Intervention
Led a nine-month capital transformation while the hotel was closed, coordinating design, budgeting, procurement, contractors and operational planning. The existing 24-room jungle lodge was repositioned as a 30-room boutique hotel without increasing the original building footprint.
After reopening, I moved from transformation into operating leadership: rebuilding the team and management structure, redesigning workflows and controls, strengthening revenue management and distribution, developing the food & beverage operation, and integrating Caribbean Hill Villas into the wider hotel operation.
The objective was to turn the physical transformation into sustainable operating performance.
Outcome
The transformation materially repositioned both the property and the business. Guest ratings strengthened, revenue increased, the operating platform expanded, and the asset developed from an underperforming eco-lodge into a professionally managed boutique hospitality operation.
+77.4%
Q1 revenue growth · 2025 → 2026
8.2 → 9.2
Booking.com guest rating
CARIBBEAN HILL VILLAS · COSTA RICA
Caribbean Hill Villas
Integration · Commercial Repositioning · Operational Leverage
Context
Caribbean Hill Villas operated as a small standalone hospitality property on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Its scale limited the operational infrastructure, distribution reach and commercial capabilities that could economically be built around it independently.
The opportunity was not to create another operating structure. It was to connect the asset to one that already existed.
Intervention
Integrated Caribbean Hill Villas into the Almonds & Corals operating platform, bringing the property into a broader hospitality ecosystem rather than continuing to operate it as an isolated asset.
Centralized key functions including reservations, distribution, revenue management, guest communications and operational oversight, while maintaining the villas as a distinct accommodation product.
This allowed existing capabilities, systems and management infrastructure to serve an additional asset without replicating the entire cost base.
Outcome
Caribbean Hill Villas became part of a larger operating platform with stronger commercial reach and professional infrastructure, while creating additional scale and inventory for the Almonds & Corals operation.
The result demonstrates a different form of value creation: not adding more infrastructure, but extracting more value from infrastructure already in place.
SHARED PLATFORM
More inventory · Existing infrastructure · Greater operating leverage
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