Building type - flat roof vs pitched roof, vinyl siding vs brick, sub grade units vs above gradeLocated in a flood zone or other environmental issuesOh, there is so much more...

You don't necessarily want to stand on the dry bank and then try & divert the stream to you.But as far as effort & startup costs, renting out dirt, portable containers, and then building permanent units is going to be progressively more expensive, so estimate the potential revenue with each of those options to find out if the juice is worth the squeeze.And of course as @Rachel H. said above there's more than just the financials - you're going to have to get P&Z on board, hearings if you're changing land use, possibly environmental testing, geotech surveys, etc.Best of luck to you!

Do a survey and environmental before you buy

It's got to be an environmental concern...have you checked with the EPA...local and state.

BEWARESuperior environmental conditions- Just as the wine industry one must have the right terroir to grow the best products which includes the right elevations and sun exposure.

If it was a gas station, repair shop, machine shop, drycleaner, etc. the is the possibility of pollution on the property. 

Have you heard about CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design)?

This opportunity is a "social impact fund" developed by a group that "[...] is a vertically integrated, minority and women-owned workforce and affordable housing investment firm" with an overall goal to to "build community and enrich lives through serving as a vehicle for social impact, environmental sustainability, and financial alpha — generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for all stakeholders" and for their investment objectives to include "[...] create, renovate, and preserve workforce and affordable housing in high growth markets throughout the US that have demonstrated the ability to outperform jobs, real wage growth, population growth, renter household formation; and exhibit a supply/demand imbalance"Well, there you go. 

For any commercial properties, I order a Phase One environmental report, which summarizes what has occurred on the property. 

If there is an environmental fining when the Phase 1 is conducted ..are there remedies for that too  and how expensive could they get  as a worst case scenario ?