Sell undeveloped, develop and sell, or develop/build then sell?

[Phillip Chumley]

- - I just heard about this site and this is my first post so any feedback is greatly appreciated - -

I am a residential real estate broker in Washington State who helped a client buy a small piece of commercial/retail/residential zoned land in a very "up and coming" area. He's been holding onto the land for a couple years and has decided that now is the time to do something with it. Without getting into too much detail, we've completed a feasibility study that determined that we could potentially build up to 7 stories (2 subgrade parking garage levels, main level retail, and residential above) but we have not gone any farther at this time. The property is right on the boarder of two different cities so I expect some complications with gaining approval for the development. I've never been through this process before so I am trying to get some advice as to what our first steps should be without overspending. 

Without some development or approved plans, I do not think the land is worth a whole lot more than what he bought it for so I am just trying to get some guidance/recommendations from some experienced developers as to what our first steps should be to make the land marketable. If we can make the land marketable by just doing some minor development/planning then he may just do that, but I do have investors who may be interested in funding the building of the project if we get the groundwork started and approved plans.

If anyone has a good contact for a project manager in Snohomish or King County (Seattle area), or just some basic advice on what steps to take to get this going, I'd appreciate your input!

[Mike Garrett]

Hey @Phillip Chumley, Welcome to the community! As an architect in Redmond, I know there are many avenues for a piece of property. I am happy to help you do the due diligence and prepare a feasibility study where; we would explore governing jurisdictions (cities/counties/tribal etc.), explore zoning and code restrictions, prepare a highest and best use report based on the surrounding area market and needs, and prepare a conceptual site plan and possible building analytics. I have worked with many realtors to put these together to help them sell or market a piece of land, or get investors involved. If you are interested in this please IM me and we can discuss it further!