What do I do with extra land

[Michael Taylor]

I have a contract on a 8 unit building in the City of Chicago on the south side that also comes with two lots next door, those lots are fenced off as part of the main building.  The building is one commercial and 7 apartments, I am not sure what the zoning is.  Currently, the tenants park their cars there and the owner built a nice patio for tenants to use.  I am looking to maximize the land, so I am thinking of purchasing a couple of steel storage shipping containers and offer them up for either tenants or outside customers to rent.  These units are 20 feet by 8 feet.  Do you think there is a market for this?  I hear that self storage rentals are very popular and profitable.  I am also thinking of offering storage for recreational vehicles or something like that.  I am not interested now in building on it, don't have the money for that.

Any thoughts on how to make more money from using the land, feedback?  

[Jonathan Klemm]

@Michael Taylor - You could always sell the land but it sounds like you want to hold it?   What neighborhood is it in?

I'd definitely look into the shipping container thing a little further.  I am not sure the legalities of trying to start a self-storage facility on vacant land.  I personally would also have concerns about security.

You can figure out the zoning pretty easy, use this link:  https://gisapps.chicago.gov/ZoningMapWeb/terms.htm

Have you considered looking for a partner so that you can build on the land?