If anyone can suggest an architect that has experience in these conversion due to all the building codes and state regulation would be greatly appreciated?

This seems to be a never ending series of onerous regulations spearheaded by Chloe Eudely that aren’t going to end until landlords organize with enough legal force to make our will known.

You will also need to know how to specify what a trade must do in writing to avoid under-work and over-regulating them.Tradesmen can be rough talking and rough personalities at times, and you also need to be able to stand up that and push through and get the job done.This is something you can probably do, and you may be able to learn the basic outline of it online from various sources before jumping into it yourself.

Now, I'll approach this from the lending perspective:  When building a new home FHA has some pretty specific rules and regulations on the builder and the property. 

The tenant operates a methadone treatment center which is highly regulated and it would be very difficult for them to move to another location.

I've gotten numerous commercial loans and they have ALL had upper caps.

Then, after charging you $5000 for the initial consultation, research and feasibility study, he will recommend an offering utilizing Reg D, 506 c instead as being less expensive, easier to sell, less regulated, and have a much better chance of success.  

They are corporations that are NOT regulated by traditional Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac guidelines.

To catch me up to speed I have been a real estate investment junkie via this website, podcasts and numerous books for the past few months.

Our industry is highly, highly regulated and our houses are eye wateringly expensive.