Handed down a golden opportunity

[Manish A.]

Hello!

I'm new to this forum!  I'm an ER physician with no real estate experience, but I have always wanted to get in.  Now might be the time...

My father owns 2 adjacent lots (combined 1.3 acres) in MD since the 1970s.  There's one leased residental home on each lot, however the zoning on both were recently changed to CSC.  He asked me if I wanted to do something with the space, the project's mine!  

I've met with a couple architects.  Rough estimates have us at 16K sq ft buildable space for single story, and 20K for 2 stories.

Looking at the surrounding area, to my inexperienced eye, the project seems like a no brainer.  This is a main road with HIGH traffic.  There are tons of stores (starbucks, 711, Mcdonalds, rite aid, Lowes) etc with a 1/2 mile radius.

My main question is - how do I figure out the best use of the space?  I've talked to random real estate agents who know the area and have taken their opinions. I think it will come down to retail rental (small strip vs. one big store) vs medial building.

Is common sense, googlemaps, and knowledge gained from speaking to the agents enough to decide on the best use?  Or do you suggest a formal market study / demographics / traffic count?  If so can one point me in the right direction?  Anything else I should be doing at this point?

I would also be interested in a consultant for hire that can answer questions / provide insight thru this process.

Thanks!

Manish