Florida state legislation had put industrial land, an important land use for Pinellas County, at risk for easy conversion to workforce and affordable housing. Given this, Pinellas County engaged SB Friedman, as part of a team led by Renaissance Planning Group, to explore the space needs of target industries and ultimately understand how much land to preserve for employment uses.
While more housing is needed in the county, there is also concern about the loss of land for employment in target industries that have high-paying jobs, significant job growth, and are export-focused. The goal of the TEILS update was to evaluate what land to preserve for target employment uses and set policies to protect these sites for employment uses. Our work included:
- Conducting target industry cluster analysis and interviews to understand the County’s industrial and office ecosystem and provide a baseline for exploring gaps and strategies for improvement;
- Conducting targeted industrial and office market analyses to evaluate current market conditions and quantify the demand for new industrial and office development in Pinellas County, specifically for target industries; and
- Developing prototypical building profiles to benchmark the form and specifications of existing buildings to understand the extent to which existing buildings may be obsolete for modern tenants. These profiles were used to inform recommendations regarding required building upgrades and future land use needs.
Results: The Forward Pinellas Board approved the TEILS on January 11, 2023. This report is being used to inform land use policies and strategies to support economic development throughout the county. In 2024, this project was awarded the "Best Plan, Report, or Study" award by the APA Florida Chapter's Sun Coast Section.