aforementioned post inspired by "one of my biggest failures"... can you help me refine my vision for redeveloping an old factory?
i'm trying to acquire one of these buildings right now [reference to the previous post] 

it's ~100k sqft in an area with some
tourism potential and while i understand the risks and costs involved, the local gov't and residents are supportive of redeveloping the property. i was intrigued by this story and wondering if you have any advice for
me as i'm getting started. i might miss out on this property as they've just called for highest and best offers and although i have no real reservations about putting up the $350k they're asking to secure the property and give myself
some breathing room, i'm not sure how to pitch it to potential partners or lenders. have just been reviewing DD docs and i know there are a lot
of potential headaches, beginning with environmental concerns and ending who knows where. my vision would be to develop it in phases, with phase 1 focusing on building out several short-term rental units and possibly a function hall. there is a popular winery nearby and several other attractions and no airbnb inventory in the immediate vicinity; also, this is the one area i do have some experience with. ideally i would like to have phase one operational by summertime. it could pay for itself with a few successful months of bookings , particularly if we could get a few medium or large sized weddings booked in the function area and have the wedding party stay onsite in the suites (which would be efficiency lofts with studio and 1 bed layouts , ideally with 1.5 baths and at least one with a jacuzzi and dressing room that could be used as a bridal and/or honeymoon suite.) 

maybe totally a pipe dream, maybe this property won't work out, but i'm determined to make it work somewhere. 

phase two and three would be residential and commercial units, it's cannabis approved, there are a lot of possibilities. id love to involve vocational schools or other on the job skills training programs; i have lots of ideas. this is the first time i've publicly shared this vision  and despite how it may seem i am keenly aware of the potential with properties like this of running into issues. i don't mean to
hijack this thread  but if anyone would be willing to brainstorm with me some
of the potential
pitfalls that i may not have thought about, horror stories, etc.- bring it on! the more information i have the better prepared i can try to be. and obviously i'd like to hear success stories too.
[{"id": "goo6rxl", "text": "All that's well and good, but what are the local market demographics? What kind of competition is there? Saying the area has a little tourism is very descriptive or encouraging. \n\nYou said environmental concerns. Have you gotten a Phase 1? Can your offer be dependent on getting a phase 1? \n\nProbably the most important question is How much cash do you have? 100k+ sf repositioning project is going to be cheap in any way, shape, or form. If you got $5 million to play with and some development experience then it could be worth a shot.", "replies": [{"id": "gop35vr", "text": "Yeah he is going to need some experience and money to get this off the ground. I\u2019ve done some adaptive reissue projects from factories to apartment buildings in the 25-35,000 sf range and my construction costs typically land between $130-135/sf depending on the project.", "replies": [{"id": "goppcmq", "text": " estimates from the docs i have access to was $150/residential or $250/cannabis (per sqft). but i don't think that it needs to be done all at once (or maybe i'm wrong). apparently they have done a phase 1 and phase 2 already but the broker's links to the documentation and reports are dead (he says he's working on it.... not sure how he is calling for highest and best offers without that info but i guess that's where we're at).  i'm not really looking to develop it for profit; i would ideally like to partner with  community members directly,  not just the town administrators and officials, i'm sure sometimes the two interests are aligned but more often than not it seems that isn't the case... even when one or both sides might be convinced otherwise. \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nwe have a lot of these mills around here and i'm just so tired of seeing the same story play out over and over.... it starts off with a smaller developer and one or two interesting, unique, actually affordable residential communities that become successful and get sold to generic property management company who come in with enough rules and regulations and fines and fees and dog dna testing that it feels more like a white collar white people luxury jail where white people trap themselves on the outskirts of cities they otherwise wouldn't step foot in , with convenient parking and highway access so that as long as they can survive the walk to and from their cars at the beginning and end of the day they never have to really consider where they are or why ... sorry to ramble.. i appreciate the feedback :)", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gop2hg5", "text": "I love this sort of thing. Message me. I\u2019ll walk you through everything", "replies": [{"id": "goppdpl", "text": "nice :D thanks and will do!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "goprvp1", "text": "ok- i sent you a PM on here (i think)", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gopxyzg", "text": "The first thing I would do is break down the financial picture. If you put down x amount of money, remember that each month and year you're responsible for taxes, mortgage, utilities and any other fees that might be attached to the property.\n\nThen I'd check the zoning regulations and make sure any plans you may have will be allowed, and if not, you'll be able to get it changed.", "replies": [{"id": "goq1zo2", "text": "insurance is one of the expenses in most concerned about. \n\n\nthere are letters of support that seem\npromising and it's a super\nsmall town of around 3000 people. i think that could go either way depending on if they decide they like me or not :)", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "goq2he2", "text": "my other question i ran into while trying to put together a preliminary budget is, if i am\noperating out of part of\nthe property, does that mean i am going to be paying insurance, utils, etc for the whole property; i think i need more\ninfo before i can accurately assess the logistical side\nof\nthat but i have no\nidea how an insurer is going to look at it. assume it would\ndepend on what kind of access there was to the 'unused' portion of property among many other things. although i live in a condo and we're not 'allowed' to go on the roof, and the door\nto the roof has an alarm and that generally seems to suffice as a deterrent. at least in sixteen years it's kept\nme out and all i want some days is to be able\nto go sit up on the roof", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "goseq3k", "text": "This was an unused factory and the city gave the developer an incentive... Stanley Marketplace\n\nhttps://www.stanleymarketplace.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAst2BBhDJARIsAGo2ldUdAHZ_Vihpb0Kwdtu_J7yapozn7br_WHl_WV-ypPKZVlQpx1Sk_hQaAkbuEALw_wcB", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]