He agreed to give it to me since he now had no place to store it. 

Not for friends, not for family, not for declawed kitty cats you find behind the convenience store who have the lonleliest eyes...Nobody.

Or why she can't get a candy bar out of the store.

Additionally, if this thing is zoned commercial and it sounds like with the store it is, that will add another layer of complexity.  

Telling me I shouldn't invest in NJ will not be helpful.If this fails I need to pressure them by raising their rent as much as I can get away with and close the laundry/storage area and refuse to let them store crap in the hallways, which will cramp their style.

@Jay Patel there is job growth in the Cleveland market, the Cleveland Clinic is a big employer driving higher end relocations, plus the Amazon warehouses in the suburbs.

If corporate guarantee is it the parent company, subsidiary, or a single location entity LLC the tenant created that they can bankrupt and easily walk away from without affecting other stores they own or their personal assets.

My lender is asking me to prepare a proforma for the retail strip I am buying (5 stores and a residential apartment).

You should be able to get a premanufactued railing or fence from home depot or a simular store that will meet these requirements. 

Most mortgages have a clauses about not storing hazardous materials in the property, as well as about keeping the property free of municipal liens, and it sounds like this particular homeowner may have crossed that threshold.