Impact of condo development?

Hi all.

I live ina small town of about 45,000. There has been a lot of old buildings in our downtown area that are being turned into condos ranging from $150k to $350k. The main people buying these condos are retiring babyboomers and people looking for a second home. There has also been a lot of restaurants forming in the same area. However, the area doesn’t have a diverse employment base. There are plans to develop a business park that will be home to some bio-tech and tech companies. What kind of impact will this have on rentals in the area? There are some cheap multi-fams in the downtown area right now. The neighborbood used to look run down and was considered the the worst section. The owners seem to be fixing up their properties now. Do you think it may be worth a look into this area? If so, what kind of indicators should I be looking for? Sorry for the long winded post. Any help would be appreciated. Thanx.