is there a particular formula that takes all manner of factors, (employment growth, corporation development news, barrier to entry, rental rates, wage growth, etc) into account and spits out an "invest in city X" answer?

Such projects can also be found in New York upper states or states with community solar aggregate policy.

I’ve looked through ordinance documents for the city and county and haven’t found anything that makes me believe they don’t allow it.  

@Vadim Feygenberg it will be challenging to find funding for that small of a project in the City of Detroit.

The numbers are better, the city is growing and going through major revitalization, and it's a much larger city with name recognition. 

It has a low barrier of entry compared to inside the city and is quite proximal to intel and Google data centers on the Northeast side of Columbus. 

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $125,000

Interior rehab. New kitchen, bathrooms, paint. Purchased at auction.

What made you interested...

Hey would anybody be able to lead me to a mortgage officer in New York City I am looking to obtain my first fha home

If you never lived in the city, do not invest there. 

IE  many cities see STR as a detriment to the housing rental market and are moving to outlaw them..