Commercial areas around a Walmart

[Glenn Glasscock]

I have a potential deal in a neighboring municipality.  One I grew up in.

The area has slowly been declining, but under the new Political regime it has improved in some areas in recent years.  Business such as Publix, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and others have come in to the area.

The biggie is obviously Walmart.   The property is adjacent to the walmart.  It was once zone residential, but is now either mixed commercial/residential or straight commercial.

The homes in the area are relatively old and small, with very small lots.  

The property was recently acquired by a friend/business partner of mine.  He took it because of the price and his broker needed it moved quickly.  He wanted to do a small renovation and rent to his son until a commercial buyer came along.  The commercial property Value is literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on the tax records.

His son moved elsewhere so he is sitting on this property now.  It's not hurting him, but he has no real use for it either.  He offered it to me.

Here are my questions.  

How does a new Walmart in a previously declining area affect property values around it?  

What is the average time before a property actually sells commercial?

What to do with a property like this, rent residential or commercial until it sells?