What to think about and look at when considering tear down to build apartment complex?

[Eric Coury]

HI there.  I am thinking about buying an old dilapidated bar building that is oddly placed amongst single family homes in a nice suburban town.  The building was an old bar - or more like a series of bars because it was a terrible spot for this type of building. Because of this turnover this building has been vacant for a long time and is cheap.  I was thinking of redesigning and  growing the building with a large addition for more rentals. There is plenty of room for growth on the lot. How would one analyze this potential investment and how can you get it approved by the town? Just thinking on this and wanted input from those who are more experienced.  Thanks!!!

[Allan Glass]

Hi @Eric Coury sounds like you've found a fun project.

@Tyler Flagg thanks for the mention, but I'm sure your pay grade and knowledge base is well within the limits to tackle this type of project...

To begin, Eric you should check with the city planning department if it's also located in Cumberland you'd likely want to call Kathy Morris or Joshua O'Neill.  When you call make sure to have all the parcel information (address / assesor parcel number) available so they can properly identify the site.

You'll want to know what the current zoning is for the property and what uses will be allowed "as of right."  Next, I always ask if the city has any special conditions for that parcel or the area (sometimes called overly zones) that may limit what you can do on the site, or in some cases may allow for special uses not typically allowed in other areas.

Once you have a general understanding of what the planning department would consider acceptable it's time to assemble a team that can help you sort through a plan of attack.  The first person should be an architect that is versed in the type of project you'd like to build (eg, adaptive re-use of an existing building, new construction apartment or commercial, or mixed use).

...all this to say you've got to figure out what you can do and what you'd like to do, before you can financially analyze what would make sense to do.

This should keep you busy for the time being.  Keep us posted as you make progress.

Best of luck

A