The 120 acres you are buying, and the phased development plans with truck stop, etc... you have covered all the bases for zoning, permits, environmental assessment, etc.?

But a particular city within the county has experienced significantly higher rent growth than other similar cities in counties with growing populations but stagnant rents for the past 20 years (an extremely common trend in the midwest, prob not columbus though).Then there's the "that city's population declined 10%", but further investigation shows an environmental crisis caused 10% of the housing supply to be deemed uninhabitable in the area... causing a population to decrease, but a massive surge in rental demand and market rents, but not an increase in value because investors see a surface level statistic without truly understanding the market dynamics, or looking at direct indicators of an asset's performance (rental demand) instead of indirect indicators (population growth).That last situation has actually happened to me, and I managed to grab over 60 small MFR buildings at  15-20 caps over about 2 years and sell them at 10 caps.

I would start with an environmental engineering company to see what their thoughts are.  

Even on small projects you could have to deal with the Army Corp of Engineers, and various environmental agencies.

Make sure you go down to building and planning, and whoever oversees environmental health and pull the files before you sign anything.

@Ben Leybovich   I looked at it very hard about mid to late 90's  ... there are environmental issues .. and the technology is very advanced..

Start with a title search, perform environmentals, review all current leases and perform a meet and greet with tenants, while always being sure to check with the Army Corps of Engineers when dealing with waterfront property.

If not I wouldn't be concerned.Best to call your state environmental department and ask knowing the size and what's in it and if such is common in the area, rural or in the city.I had a tank sink in the ground on one side, it tipped over and spilled, a filler wasn't tight.

With all the various environmental laws, etc. if it's an actual named creek or stream moving any dirt around would probably not be allowed.

A developer buys a property for X amount of dollars, and has to put in all the infrastructure to support the project (underground utilities, roads, curb, gutter, sidewalk, drainage, deal with any environmental concerns, soil stabilization issues, earthquake requirements, cost of a neighborhood park, contribute to a nearby traffic signal, etc. and many unforeseen things) ALL of these things add costs to a development.