Commercial use in Single Family Zoning (R1)

[Jesse Adamson]

I am new to commercial real-estate. I am researching a deal with a small church building that was built in 1930 and is now zoned R1 but is a corner lot and eligible for a Change of Use application for other uses that don't harm the neighborhood of mostly single family houses. The building department says this process requires an application to the boar do zoning appeals and a hearing. This process is supposed to be performed for any change of use, but also for each new tenant even if they keep the previous use. I was thinking the property would be good for a little office or retail or corner store. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience renting out a property like this? Is it a common thing to apply for change of use permits on older commercial buildings in residential neighborhoods, or does this sound like something that would be a huge pain and greatly deter renters and make it very hard to find a tenant? Thanks!