I have already received soft quotes for a road to be put in (sewer, side walks, hydrants, etc), doing an informal with the city, surveying, wetlands, and cost to subdivide.

But the skills, hard and soft, translate well into real estate.  

Newer stuff is just so soft and will eventually chip or ripple if its fake wood. 

There are several different add a unit “programs” out there- legalize existing illegal inlaw, add an ADU, add ADU with soft story, different regulations for 1-4 bs 5+ units, etc.

@Brad Bass, If your interest in the properties or in the LLCs is not more than 50% then you're not a related party for 1031 purposes. 

I was originally thinking that they couldn't lease the two storefronts because the commercial market is soft there, however I wonder how much of an affect an "unfinished" storefront would have on a potential leasee and think this is a major factor for people not leasing it.

Being highly experienced in construction I can almost guarantee you’re missing some vital soft cost as well as site preparation cost.  

@Joseph Bass sell or not depending on your goals.

Some suggestions I've heard were if the market was a little soft to include the first month's rent free to get more applicants, etc.Another way I've wondered how to apply incentives is through a podcast that described a method of building lasting relationships with nearby big local employers in the hopes that they refer their employees to live at your property.

Plan ahead to avoid big losses.How To Do ItIn order to leverage your cash to buy investment real estate in Indianapolis, you’ll need to either work with a bank, hard-money lender, soft-money lender, or a private lender.