PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — It's definitely not a secret anymore — Pinellas County is booming with all kinds of new construction.
In Pinellas Park, The Gateway Center is one of the prime industrial developments that is seeing tons of new businesses come in.
According to Nancy Surak, Managing Broker of the Land Advisors Organization in Tampa Bay, the lots left in that area went to market in March 2020, right before the pandemic began.
Unsure what would happen, it's nothing but a success story. Right now, all but one parcel of land is sold. Major companies are either building here or expanding.
"This is just a great little gem, not only for the city of Pinellas Park but also for Pinellas County and our entire region. Real estate has been incredibly hot. But I started working on this project about six years ago, my owner is on the land in the park for about a decade. This park was originally developed in the 80s, it's taken a good 40 years to get to where we are today, which is just a great mixed-use little project with lots of parcels," Surak said.
"As you can see behind me new industrial projects that have come out of the ground, we originally took about six to seven of the parcels remaining vacant parcels to the market, and March of 2020. And if you recall, that was in the very beginning of COVID. So you know, you can imagine my panic when we launched on a Monday and on Tuesday, our world completely shut down. But we did find some great success early on with the distribution company that is about to open behind me, as well as a number of existing companies in the park that are expanding. And then new companies that are coming in, it's been a very exciting time, we're also seeing significant demand for residential to support the jobs that are coming here as well," explained Surak.
Demand is through the roof, especially in Tampa Bay, but land can be hard to find.
"But really, this is how our community grows, and becomes something really special. You know, I'd like to say that I thank our sports teams, for helping the real estate market, both residential and where I focus in the commercial space, gain the momentum that we're seeing right now," said Surak. "But yeah, my phone has definitely been ringing off the hook. A lot of people want to be here. A lot of people want to spend money here. You know, the biggest concerns now I think are just affordability issues."
But, in turn, these corporations are bringing in jobs.
"The job calculation so far that we are anticipating in the next two to three years to be created is about 500. A number of those are target industry jobs. And those that are not target industry are definitely higher paying wage jobs, which is fantastic. But all together when I do the math, we're looking at somewhere between 22 and $25 million of annual payroll that is going to be brand new in this little area. So on, you know, seven or eight different parcels. We're seeing substantial growth from an employment standpoint," said Surak.
While we can't name all the companies that are coming to this area, we can tell you that some are major names.
But, it's also important to keep that small-town feel of Pinellas Park.
Surak said, "So I think we'll see continued growth. But I know the city of Pinellas Park is very concerned about making sure that they retain their sense of community and what makes them special. And I'll tell you from sitting in their planning and zoning meetings and sitting with their city council, that leadership really does carefully look at what's coming in, and they want to be open for business, but they also don't want to lose what makes them special."
