Check local zoning laws, hire an architect to give you an idea of what you can put there, once you have an engineer and architect on board, hire an attorney to get approvals.

If it is not in compliance with the historic district that may be difficult to work around but not impossible.They may require an architect or structural engineer to evaluate the building and provide a report.This could be a great opportunity for you, just walk in with both eyes wide open.  

I'm a software engineer (programmer) and a  newbie in REI. 

When 9/11 happened I lost my first engineering job, before it happened I knew my job was not a 40 year job, industrial engineers were basically hired consultants.

Was the inspector an engineer?

We recently ran into an issue whereby adding walls drew enough outside attention that our project got shut down and an engineer had to be brought in to provide drawings for the space (cost us $5K) even after the walls were already up!

I also use more search engines because there are many different MLS databases.

I am currently 27 years old and working from home as an engineer, I make my own hours and like what I do as I sacrificed a lot in my early 20s, not going out and traveling to attain 10certifications in my field and allow me to be where I am today.

Then, there are folks from India who were engineers and jewelry store owners and started investing their money. 

I blew out my poor BMW X3 engine last week with all this driving back and forth and it has hit me for a while that there has to be a better way!