Structuring a deal for commercial land with a master developer

[David Jiang]

Hey everyone,

I need some help and advice on how to structure a deal with the seller/developer of a commercial lot that I'm interested in. The potential deal is for a 20k SQFT lot within a larger, planned development for a shopping center that the seller is developing himself. My plan is to carve out a chunk of land with frontage to the main road and put up a 4-5 unit building for smaller eateries and mom and pop businesses. 

My biggest concern is buying land in a planned development where I cannot develop on my own without the master developer first laying down the basic footprint (driveways, utility connections, etc). How are deals like this typically structured such that there are performance requirements and deadlines placed on the master developer and recourse for me in the event that he does not follow through with his intended plan for the shopping center?

I have an agreement with him to seller-finance 70% of my purchase price and I suppose this inherently incentivizes him to deliver on his end, but that's not terribly comforting knowing my only recourse if something goes wrong is to walk away and lose "just" the 30% down payment. 

Really appreciate any insight on how this is usually handled in the commercial world.