Funding a School Conversion

[Tyler Buck]

I own a few SFH and closing on 1 duplex. I came across an opportunity for a school that I think would be a really great setup for apartments. I'm a bit out of my element when it comes to estimating costs and possible expenses on a building this size. I figure I could easily convert each room (10-15) into an apartment, but that leaves about 50% of the sqft not utilized. From an expense perspective, I ballpark this as somewhere from 400k-1 mil, but I'm not that cash rich. I can, however, purchase the existing property with a conventional loan. So I have a few questions here...

What is the best way to tackle a conversion like this from a finance side? Bank, HML, something else? (private equity is not available - tried in the past)

Should an apartment building be structured within an LLC or S-Corp? (Nothing held like that today)

Are there good ways to estimate these conversions? (I'm guessing a GC is the best resource)

Since I'm left over with about 50% of the sqft, I figure I could upsell and add a small gym. Any considerations there?

Finally, with so much space left over, could I try to have storage space for rent within the basement level or is that an issue for residences above those spaces? 

I appreciate any insight that you can share.