Small commercial vacant lot - potential use cases, short and long term

[Dom Nico]

I'm seeking recommendations for types of businesses either to encourage/court or to consider myself or with a partner. Recommendations can be short-term uses to bring in revenue while considering long-term plans.

The land costs almost nothing to own, so selling is an option but I would much prefer to keep it and generate income from it. Exception would be that I'll consider selling and using proceeds for BRRRR (and currently this is the best idea I have).

Ideally I'm looking for minimal cost to me. Open to developing the land myself, but in most cases that would require finding a partner, so I'm prioritizing zero-to-low cost options.

Recent fee appraisal puts value around $140k. Separate BoV concurs with near-$150k range.

Subject lot is approx. 100' street frontage by 150', rectangle. Vacant, flat. All utilities. Sidewalk, no curb cut yet. Zoned commercial. Most commercial, mixed-use, office, multifamily res, and small industrial uses permitted. Potential to add as much as 7,200 sq ft from adjoining vacant property, but have not spoken with owner.

Will be meeting with the planning department to discuss further considerations, such as height restrictions, etc., as well as types of businesses they're hoping to see more or less of. Also will be reaching back out soon to commercial brokers for further insights.

Industrial area undergoing redevelopment. Half mile from Interstate, 1 mile to CBD. Area has mix of older retail strips, motels, banks, gas stations, some QSR, a few independent restaurants, services (barber shops, etc.), and retail, warehouses, factories, and a business incubator for entrepreneurs. 

Just a couple of lots down from an intersection that averages approx. 30k vehicles per day. The main road out front gets 20k/day. For morning/evening rush hour traffic, the property is on the outbound (evening) side of the road.

Lot's too small to attract most chains. Probably too small for multistory self-storage. Well-suited to professional/medical offices, small restaurants, small retail. Assuming a building footprint of up to 5000 sq ft, use could not support the need for a lot of parking (probably <20 spaces).

Not interested in auto maintenance and other uses that require disposal (and potential runoff/dumping) of large volume of hazardous materials.

Long term, I'd prefer something that contributes to the improvement of this area (e.g. a used car lot might be OK for a couple of years just to generate income, but I'd want to find something more beneficial after that). Area lacks coffee shops, laundromats. Uses that cater to commuters would thrive. Uses that also target the business incubator residents/visitors and remote workers might work, e.g. many years ago I'd thought about doing a sort of subscription-based co-working space - something of that sort may do well initially, but may be much more successful in about 5 years as the area continues to redevelop.

Current resident population within 1/2-mile is lower-income. Families, seniors. Not walking distance for more affluent and younger population of CBD.