I’m evaluating a former car wash property in Metro Detroit:Just under 1 acre lot~4,000 sq ft building with multiple bays (9 ft clearance overhead doors)Zoned C4 “Multi Use Commercial”My concept is to convert it into multi-tenant flex space for auto-related businesses (detailing, tinting, wraps, light mods, etc.).I’d love to hear from anyone who has repurposed a car wash (or other single-use building) into something else.

Laundry in apartments is very common. 

Put a fresh coat of paint in common areas, power wash the building if it has siding.

From what I hear, the same issues keep coming up:Tenants complain if halls, stairs, or laundry areas aren’t maintained.Owners don’t always know about damage, leaks, or safety issues until they’ve already become expensive.Doing the cleaning yourself (or relying on tenants) isn’t reliable long term.I’ve been helping some Philly landlords with regular common space cleaning, and one thing they value is that it doubles as basic property oversight.

Quote from @Joseph Tadres: Was he ever able to find a reliable handyman? 

One great activity is what I call the "quick and dirty" way to look. 1) In Airbnb, look up your address in "travel" mode. and see how much competition there is.  2) Look up monthly stays for this coming weekend and for the whole month and see how many vacant units there are.  3) Then use the filters to see if there is a saturation in 2-3-4-5 bedrooms and what amenities might make a difference in your competitive strategy (Ie. in unit laundry, pet friendly, # bathrooms, etc)

I would love to buy a car wash or laundry mat.

For example quiet hours, laundry uses, etc.

This is a condo - the setup is like a 4plex, where they all share a laundry room and each 2 units share a 2 car garage - I'd only own the 1 unit.

Increasing your rent is horrible advice to begin with; and sweeping the parking lot, virtual staging and hiding the laundry area will certainly not close the obvious value gap!!