@Michael Smythe  the link you provided is from humane society who champion animal rights.

WE can get numbers to work in Columbus Ohio but I don't think anywhere else in ohio unless it was a city school district within 2 miles of urban core and new construction is above $210 per square foot and even then we'd have to look at land cost because land is cheap in columbus. we are expanding now to florida since the numbers are even better. not the opposite. just my 2 cents. 

I have a YouTube channel I just posted a deal we are doing on if you search pink development you can see the lot. on my triplex I don't build a garage so every sq ft is appraisable. on my single family we have to build garages most of the time unless it's our micro home 700 sq ft that we sell for under 200k. the rent price / sq ft of SFR even smaller ones is maybe on average $1.70, on our 650 sq ft floorplan it's closer to $2.43 which is about 40% more efficient. supply and demand. very few multifamily built, higher appreciation, etc. most of the people who do them refinance why go through all that effort just to sell. appreciation in columbus last 3 years averages 8.65%. we only do this in 3 zip codes in columbus close to the urban core where new construction values are about a 15% or 20% premium and where there is already a lot of multifamily and it's easy to get them approved on an infill lot. 

With more and more virtual work and the fear mongering of dense urban areas, whether right or wrong, you may see more demand in these locations helping to increase the values. 

Also people are pretty willing to donate to charities that do good for society and for the community, so raising capital may not be as difficult as you think, once you get going and have a track record.

We use them and they are not my favorite at all but they do book a lot of our more urban units and they do help fill some last minute space

Unfortunately my municipal apples may be oranges to yours, I’ve navigated major urban municipal departments which simply might not match up to your local bureaucracy, but here’s my 2 penny opinion.- I stand by a pretty universal Bldg dept practice- a permit never gets released if zoning forbids it.

Invest for what society will look like down the road, boomers are retiring, families aren't forming as fast, and "corrections" happen.

This is probably a lot more true in urban areas like Chicago, NYC, Oakland etc. etc. where there is a huge huge difference between nice areas and bad so people start moving into bad areas over time.With that being said, like MLM, most people will probably not do well and a select few will.

I think the only way to get into that price range will be to look at Powhatan (semi-rural) or Chesterfield (sub-urban).