Buy the business or the whole building

[Ian Jaeger]

So I'm working on a business plan to revamp a local business.  It's one I had walked into with a relatively specific need that the store SHOULD have been able to easily meet.  Alas, the store was a disaster and truly one of those places that one person walks into and fears for their life... whereas I walked in and immediately thought: "I want to buy and revamp this!"  

Granted that's a pretty new feeling for me so this may sound absolutely ridiculous here... please bear with me.

I've talked to some colleagues who are in that particular business (let's call in convenience store) and they said that there's probably some merit to looking into it.  It's a business that currently sits in the middle of a 3-unit commercial 'strip mall.'  I've found the owner of the business, but I also found the owner of the building itself.  

This led to me trying to figure out what a building like that is worth because it's obviously much more interesting to me to own the building and let one of my colleagues run the business.  

Does anyone have a good way here in the Dallas area to get an idea of what a building is worth?  can you back calculate based on the county taxes?  I'd like to have an idea what I'm going into before I approach the owner to at least have something in the ballpark.

Thanks,

Ian