Once you identify the land, I advise calling the local planner who will be able to give lots of information about the build-ability and process for building in that area. 

The 32 year ground lease plus the improvements made to/on the land creates/represents the new real estate interest that you will be identifying and acquiring as your replacement property in your 1031 Exchange.There is no way to do this kind of 1031 Exchange without risk since all we have are three (3) Private Letter Rulings.  

I'm thinking (correct me if I'm wrong) it'd be a good idea to identify specific neighborhoods in cities I'm interested in.

Identify what skills you have right now that could assist someone in real estate.

The last one isn’t a must, but it sure does help with the lender has personal experience in the seat you’re sitting in.Most importantly, a lot of first-time buyers feel the need to extensively shop around to find the “best” lender but they don’t necessarily know what they’re shopping for and it ends up biting them in the rear. (1) identify what you need in a lender (use the criteria above) (2) understand that opening yourself up to lenders and saying things like “I’m talking with a couple other lenders and want to know where you’re pricing is” will likely close the door for honest advice.

I'm reaching out to Vermiculite/Asbestos specialists to identify costs and options.

Work out a term sheet first identifying what interests you each will have in the enterprise, what duties, how gains and losses will be split, how disputes will be resolved, etc. 

He asked $15,000 but thanks to my construction back ground I identified tons of issues with the house. and was able to talk him down.

#2: If yes, how long should it take to sell the property after you identify another to 1031 into? 

You can also use deal machine to identify deals and cold call those individuals later / add them to your lead channel.