Apartment complex to assisted living complex - Michigan

[Samuel S.]

Hey BP folks,

Was hoping I could get some insight into the below deal that I currently have under contract, where we are looking to turn a vacant 27 unit apartment complex (45 beds total) into an assisted living facility. What is most interesting about this deal is that the property used to be a hospital before it was converted to an apartment complex 30 years ago, so it is already equipped with many ADA compliant amenities such as large doorways/hallways, elevator, etc. It also has a great deal of character - large ceilings, tons of windows and sunlight, extremely spacious layouts, etc. 

This property is located in a smaller county (35k population), which happens to be the seat of the county where all the surrounding city residents typically come into for all their commerce needs (shopping, factory jobs, hospitals, etc).  The property is also in a very attractive location, within walking distance to the downtown area, and has an extremely rich history as it is was the historic town hospital. So much so that the city is willing to offer tax incentives to whoever is to come in and make an investment. 

Over the past few years the property has slowly become cosmetically dilapidated due to absentee owner and property management issues. However the building has very good structural bones, and the boiler system, fire suppression, and elevators are all in surprisingly seemly good condition.  

I believe that the highest and best use for this building is to turn it into an assisted living facility, and restore its original beauty.   

I have started doing research on what would be needed to turn a building like this into an assisted living facility, but haven't yet been able to find a solid source for information yet.  I don't believe zoning will be an issue due to the city's apparent willingness to work with the investor.

My main question is surrounding what legally needs to be done to turn this into an assisted living facility (outside of ADA building code compliance and zoning)

1. Do I need to be registered with the state/county? 

2. Do I need to have "x" amount of nurses, nurse assistants, etc on staff at any given time? 

3. What are the main legal/ regulation requirements? 

I know this is somewhat of an open ended question - but I am just trying to figure out exactly what items I need to do into order to make this a legal assisted living facility. 

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!