Then we have California and our trend of being "the most stringent" on environmental laws etc. which translates into too expensive to do business in!

You need to look at the setbacks and other details and it will help you calculate a footprint of what you can build.

., tax assessor's office, drive-by, investigation of environmental concerns.

I am not sure how it tis with medical facilities but it may require a lot of environmental protection cleanup afterwards.I remember a gas station lot being sold at $1000 because it required over $250k of cleanup where similar size lots were going for over $300k.

. : )I like my privacy and peace and not feeling like I am in a footprint squished in like a sardine to fit.

Yes, exploiting the national (and international) footprint is a key marketing strategy for the big nationals...

Lot to learn and it's easier to learn locally than trying to learn market trends, values, environmental issues, etc. from afar...or until you have a trusted team set up who can assist you on this. 

there is a little thing called the CRA   ( community reinvestment Act) the banks if they are located in that footprint must lend in the community..

On a side note, you should look at the Boulder area specifically, because you have a huge pool of ready tenants and all parts of the city are much more open to progressive (especially environmentally conscious) ideas.

Haven't updated this post in a while, because I have been unable to close on the lots due to environmental issues.