Florida Developers ready to build - 600,000 new houses and millions of sq. ft. of commercial space

They are trying to get environmental and planning standards relaxed to build even while houses and commercial space stand empty and unsaleable. That is their way of "planning for the future!"

Despite economy, developers want to build on Florida land

By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, April 19, 2009

TALLAHASSEE — A development boom is brewing under the radar of Floridians distracted by deteriorating real estate values and record foreclosures.

The state is processing an unprecedented number of proposals for new homes and commercial development. If approved, these projects could pump more than 600,000 rooftops onto a market suffering from a surplus of product and slowdown in population growth.

Also on developers' wish lists: the right to build a half-billion square feet of nonresidential space.

Such pipe dreams might seem laughable in today's depressed economy and moribund housing market. But property owners with an eye on the future are spinning plans that have the potential to unlock hundreds of thousands of agricultural and environmentally sensitive acres to residential and retail development over the coming decades.

Mike McDaniel, a planner at the state's Department of Community Affairs for 22 years, finds the surge stunning.

"Instinctively, most people would think there would be a slowdown,'' he said. "And it may be true at the other end, where the developers apply for the permit (to build). But there's been no letup here. It's a gold rush."

McDaniel said landowners, eager to turn dirt into money, are behind the push for a record number of new planned communities. Regardless of whether these mega­projects become reality, the owners stand to win.

"They want to get the land use change, strike it rich, then move off to where there are not a lot of people,'' he said.

But where will that leave Florida?

More: http://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/article993054.ece

.... So who will be buying these thousands of new houses, now that the stream of retirees from the north has dried up?

Unless they're building oceanfront properties in Orlando.... the sea will arrive there shortly.

It's not without reason that the next wave of retirees or sunseekers would be from the West Coast. The West Coast is grossly overpriced, the beaches, swimming, boating, and watersports suck compared to Florida and many of them "discover" Florida when relatives or friends retire here. We had a wave of West Coasters not too long ago. Even with real estate values what they are now, if you bought a house in SF or LA ten years ago, you would probably sell it and walk away with enough cash to pay cash for a nicer house in Florida.