Its not located in any flood zones or where tornadoes or hurricanes are prominent.

I am looking for an investor with access to $1 million to pay for the architect and engineering and legal and finance work.

Most of the prominent marketplaces pre-fund deals and later crowdfund out of their position.  

Give tenants 12 months notice, 24 months if they are disabled or elderlyCreate your architectural documents (unit floor plans, site plan) Create your standard condo docs with an attorney (master deed, declaration of trust)Have a different architect come and provide a 'Statement of Condition' (this is the hardest thing to find - most architects will not be willing to take a small job like this - this is also only required in Somerville as far as I know) Complete an application to the condo board (meets once a month)Attend the condo board approval meeting, or have your attorney attendSubmit $500 fee per unit to the townPrior to closing, separate all utilities with separate meters (electric, gas/oil, even water in Somerville)All-in costs for 2 unit conversion...anywhere from $12k to $18k.

Does one actually need an architect to make this happen?

AutoCAD, Revit/BIM modelling, Chief Architect, etc.Did the designs help expedite the construction project? 

Sumaiya,I am an Architect in Chicago and the simple answer is yes you should hire an expeditor.

A good Designer or Architect would be busy and the Structural Engineers that I work with are swamped.

It is home to one of the only Level 1 trauma center hospitals (Carle) in the state outside of Chicago and the state's most prominent university.

Had a couple of design issues from the architect, that caused some delays.