Purchasing commercial property to use as residential

[Charles W.]

Hello everyone im new to this sort of thing and would like some input on this subject. Any advise on how to start this project and get some answers would be great. I recently just noticed this closed down commercial property (2 stories) in my city and would like to start the process of finding who the owner is so I could go about purchasing it. The business was a fabric shop (bottom unit), my idea would be to turn the second story into a studio apartment 1 or 2 room. would I have to purchase the whole commercial property? or is there a way that the second story can be turned into an apartment and then be sold as just residential property by itself? I really just want the top floor.