Small Multi-family new construction

[Chris Allen]

So I am looking at two of pieces of property that I know the seller is open to selling. Its an old house on a 0.56 acre plat that cuts right in the middle of another plat that is about 2.5 acre, both owned by the same person. The house is zoned for "Neighborhood Service", and the larger piece is zoned "General Retail". I talked with the city planner today and he let me know a developer actually just backed out of building a corner store there because the neighbors did not want a retail area there, but when I mentioned splitting the plats and doing maybe like duplexes or something there, he sounded excited and thought that the neighborhood would be on board for something like that. My question is this...

If I were able to tackle this deal, how would you go about financing and structuring a deal like this?

I know there are several exit options available to this property, as long as I get the neighbors and city approval, so any other suggestions on use for this property?