A system I've developed in my business is I pay 1/4 of the project upfront for the contractor to buy materials and then we develop a weekly "draw schedule" for the remaining amount.

A colleague of mine is a developer, and she has been growing her portfolio more in the city (with less and less of a focus in the suburbs).

Highly developing area.

I’ve found most business owners doing 7 figures or more spend six figures in personal development and networking.

I appreciate your suggestion to try to develop a relationship with a local bank.

Properties I buy today in certain neighborhoods will triple in value (that is a conservative estimate) in the coming years - based on what we see happening consistently in the changing parts of the city and the city plans that continue to develop and positively impact the RE market.

My question is would it be a good cash flow strategy to buy up these cheep tracts and use my knowledge to clear and develop the lots and sell them at a premium after?

As a newbie investor in the education phase of developing my rental business, I am looking to collect a wealth of resources to have on hand for market analysis. 

Can anyone recommend book or some resources about developing industrial warehouses.

This will help you develop a real plan that you can use to keep yourself focused and motivated.