Does anyone have an idea of the zoning department's appetite for this type of conversion? 

It should be located on the planning and zoning department website.

It's one dear to me because it is our primary residence (parents but they give me permission to do everything). 

Hey dear communityI started driving for dollars to find potential places I can contact.

Dear @Taylor L.

If you're new to Baltimore, the housing typology map put together by the Baltimore City Planning Department can be a great guide to find an area to invest in based on your comfort level/goals.

This is what we got- Call building and zoning department- call water/sewer municipalities- Copy of tenant leases- Pull public records and property transaction history- Home Inspection- Get Contractor estimates for any inspection items or planned improvements- Get loan estimate- Check lead paint and hazardous material databases- Check FEMA Flood Map- Rerun numbers based on information gatheredWhat else do you do?

Contact the City or County building department.

Before you do anything you need to:1) talk to the city zoning department and see what uses are allowed on the property.2) check out the survey to see if there are any portions that are not usable due to setbacks, easements, etc. in addition to what the maximum buildable area is based on the zoning restrictions.3) see what utilities you have available at the tract (water, sewer, gas, electric).4) based on the above, see what the options are and if you think any of those would be profitable.5) decide if you want to build and operate whatever that business is or just sell the land to someone else to build. 

I am also in the process of filing a complaint with the TN Department of Insurance and Commerce.Stay away from builder Jay Ellis!!