July 2026 Commercial Real Estate new business activity in Florida

Florida's next wave of commercial buildings is already on the drawing board, and the plans are public long before the doors open. County and city planning boards, port and county commissions, and developers' own pages show new warehouses, shopping centers, mixed-use districts, hotels, medical offices, and storage yards moving through zoning and permits right now, from Pensacola and Jacksonville to Tampa, Fort Myers, and Miami. New commercial real estate and development businesses are registering with the state every week to plan, broker, and build them.

New commercial real estate and development businesses are forming fastest in Southeast Florida. Every commercial project starts a long chain of local work before it opens. Someone has to survey and engineer the site, clear and pave it, pour concrete and raise steel, run the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, and finish and furnish the space. Brokers lease it, property managers run it, and suppliers stock it. A developer, broker, or builder that sees a project early can line up to bid the work before it is awarded, which is why new firms cluster where the building is heaviest.

The counts below show where new commercial real estate and development businesses are registering, by region, over the last 30, 90, and 365 days. Under them are the projects coming to Florida, pulled from county and city planning records, port and commission agendas, and companies' own announcements, with the specific businesses each one will need. The state rules and official pages live at the bottom, in Commercial Real Estate and Development Resources.

New commercial real estate and development businesses by region, over the last 30, 90, and 365 days. Regions are ranked by the last year.

Another 1,382 new businesses in the last year did not list a county, so they are counted in the Florida total but not placed in a region.

The commercial buildings coming to Florida, pulled from county and city planning agendas, port and commission votes, and companies' own announcements, so a builder, broker, or supplier can get in early. These are planned, approved, permitted, and under-construction projects, not past openings, spread across the state from the Panhandle to the Gold Coast, and across types: warehouses, shopping centers, mixed-use districts, hotels, medical offices, and storage.

• Northwest Florida (Panhandle)· 2026-06-22

  Triumph board approves $76 million for a 380,000 sq ft Pensacola shipyard

  On June 22, 2026 the Triumph Gulf Coast board approved a term sheet to give the City of Pensacola up to $76 million to help build Birdon America's advanced ship-manufacturing plant at the Port of Pensacola. The plan calls for two ship-building halls totaling about 380,000 square feet and is expected to support about 2,000 new jobs. The same board meeting also moved a Gulf County ship-repair drydock and a Franklin County aviation-training academy forward, so the Panhandle's port and defense pipeline is filling up at once. As this shipyard is built, it will need site and marine construction crews, dredging and pile-driving firms, structural steel and concrete suppliers, industrial electricians and welders, and metal-building erectors. Once it runs, it will need equipment rental, industrial coatings, trucking, and worker housing and food service near the port. New construction and supply firms are the ones that bid work like this. It brings the largest single job-creation project in Pensacola's history and grows Florida's defense and shipbuilding base on the Gulf coast.

  Source: Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. (board meeting minutes)

• Northwest Florida (Panhandle)· 2026-06-22

  Gulf County advances a $64 million ship-repair yard in Port St. Joe

  At the same June 22, 2026 meeting, the Triumph Gulf Coast board voted to open term-sheet talks on up to $23.5 million toward a floating drydock and ship-repair yard at Eastern Shipbuilding's Port St. Joe site. The full project is set to cost about $64 million and to hold about 400 full-time jobs. It is the step right before a funding agreement. Building a drydock yard will need dredging services, marine construction and mooring installers, steel fabrication and welding shops, and industrial electrical firms. As it runs it will keep coatings, equipment rental, and trucking businesses busy, and it will draw new housing and food service to the area. It keeps skilled shipbuilding jobs on the Gulf coast and strengthens a small Florida port town's economy.

  Source: Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. (board meeting minutes)

• Northwest Florida (Panhandle)· 2026-04-13

  Panama City weighs a private yacht club and marina on Bunkers Cove

  The Panama City Planning Board took up a development agreement on April 13, 2026 for a private membership yacht club and marina on about 2.3 acres at 212 and 218 Bunkers Cove Road, and the City Commission set its public hearing for April 28, 2026. The board's other commercial matter that cycle was also a waterfront marina, at Watson Bayou, so the city's docket leaned to marine projects. A new club and marina will need marine construction and dock builders, dredging crews, and clubhouse trades like concrete, electrical, and plumbing, plus landscaping. Once open it will need marina services, boat maintenance, and food and beverage operators. It adds waterfront jobs and boating tourism to Bay County's recovering coast.

  Source: City of Panama City (Planning Board agenda)

• North Central Florida· 2026-06-09

  Alachua County clears a first vote for a 580-acre golf course near Gainesville

  On June 9, 2026 Alachua County commissioners gave first-reading approval to an ordinance that lets a 580-acre property off Parker Road become a golf course with other amenities. The land is owned by the University of Florida Foundation and sits in the Hickory Sink study area, so wetland sections will be set aside as conservation. A second reading is still needed before work can start. Building a golf resort will need earthwork and grading crews, irrigation installers, turf and landscape firms, and a clubhouse general contractor with electrical and plumbing subs. Once open it will need course maintenance and hospitality staffing. It adds recreation and tourism jobs near Gainesville while protecting sensitive springs land.

  Source: Alachua County (County Commission highlights)

• North Central Florida· announced 2026-05-12

  Alachua County studies 260 acres for new industrial use off State Road 24

  Alachua County is weighing a land-use change on 260 acres off State Road 24, next to the Leveda Brown Environmental Park. The plan would drop the old fairground label and allow industrial, government, and waste-related uses, while blocking a data center on the site, with a formal hearing as the next step. The county is also building out sewer and road capacity nearby, including a design phase to widen Archer Road to four lanes to support southwest-county growth. If the land opens to industry, it will need site-development and civil engineering firms, industrial building contractors, and utility and electrical crews, then warehouse and logistics tenants that draw local suppliers and staffing. It sets aside room for new employers in a region that leans heavily on the university and government for jobs.

  Source: Alachua County (County Commission highlights)

• Northeast Florida (First Coast)· 2026-03-19

  St. Johns County backs a 45,000 sq ft commercial center on US 1

  The St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency voted 5-0 on March 19, 2026 to recommend rezoning 3.11 acres at 10090 US 1 North to a planned unit development that allows up to 45,000 square feet of commercial space, capped at 65% impervious surface. The Board of County Commissioners gives the final word. The same agency meeting also approved a restaurant alcohol permit, so the county's commercial docket is picking up alongside its steady coastal-home cases. A new retail center will need site grading and paving crews, a commercial general contractor, and retail build-out subs like electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, plus sign installers. As tenants lease in, it will need their fit-out contractors and staffing. It adds shops and jobs in fast-growing northern St. Johns County.

  Source: St. Johns County Planning & Zoning Agency (meeting minutes)

• Northeast Florida (First Coast)· 2026-05-19

  Jacksonville reviews a 25-acre industrial business park off Collins Road

  A rezoning before the Jacksonville Land Use and Zoning Committee would let Collins Rd Properties build an industrial business park with office space on 25.55 acres near Rampart and Collins roads, with a public hearing set for July 21, 2026 after staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval. The same May 19 agenda carried a light-industrial reclassification on Dundas Drive, a JEA utility rezoning, and a mixed-use Phoenix Commons plan, so the city is moving a full slate of commercial and industrial land this cycle. A business park will need civil site contractors, tilt-wall and steel erectors, paving and grading firms, and commercial electricians, then dock-door and racking installers. Once tenants move in it draws industrial staffing and trucking firms. It adds warehouse and office space and jobs on Jacksonville's growing west side.

  Source: City of Jacksonville (Land Use & Zoning Committee agenda)

• Northeast Florida (First Coast)· 2026-05-19

  A boat and RV storage yard heads to a Jacksonville zoning hearing

  In the same May 19, 2026 Jacksonville zoning packet, KST Investments asked to rezone 2.07 acres near Miller Circle North and Pulaski Road from general commercial to a planned unit development that allows a boat and RV storage facility. The item passed first reading and moved to a June 16, 2026 public hearing. Building a storage yard will need site clearing and paving crews, fencing and security-gate installers, and metal-building erectors, then on-site management and security staffing. It gives boat and RV owners a place to park and adds a small business to the tax rolls.

  Source: City of Jacksonville (Land Use & Zoning Committee agenda)

• Central Florida· 2026-04-21

  Lakeland reviews a 45,000 sq ft warehouse by CenterState Logistics Park

  The Lakeland Planning and Zoning Board reviewed a plan on April 21, 2026 to bring 11.29 acres on Old Polk City Road into the city and zone it for a 45,000 square foot warehouse next to CenterState Logistics Park, with City Commission approval of the annexation and rezoning still to come. The same board packet moved a nearby site from 92 townhomes to 112 apartments and let the local hospital add medical office space, so Lakeland is rezoning its industrial edge and its downtown at once. A warehouse build will need site grading and wetland work, an industrial building contractor, and paving and fencing crews, then racking, dock equipment, and security-system installers. As tenants sign, it draws logistics staffing and trucking. It adds shipping and storage space along the busy US 27 and I-4 logistics corridor.

  Source: City of Lakeland (Planning & Zoning Board packet)

• Central Florida· 2026-07-06

  Osceola County funds a 60,000 sq ft conference center expansion

  On July 6, 2026 the Osceola County Commission approved a bank loan of up to $22 million to build about 60,000 square feet of new space at the Rida Conference Center near Kissimmee. The money also covers reserves and issuance costs. It adds meeting and event space in a county that runs on tourism. A large event-space build will need a commercial general contractor, audio-visual and technology installers, and banquet furniture and kitchen-equipment suppliers, then hospitality staffing once it opens. It helps Osceola County draw more conventions and the visitor spending that comes with them.

  Source: Osceola County (Board of County Commissioners agenda)

• Central Florida· 2026-03-17

  Lakeland Regional Health adds medical office space near its campus

  The Lakeland Planning and Zoning Board voted 6-0 on March 17, 2026 to let Lakeland Regional Health place a modular office building at 1324 Lakeland Hills Boulevard for medical office use while it plans a permanent building on the same land. The work will need modular-building installers, medical-equipment and office-furniture suppliers, IT and network-cabling firms, and HVAC contractors for medical-grade climate control. It expands health-care office space for a growing Polk County population.

  Source: City of Lakeland (Planning & Zoning Board packet)

• Central Florida (Space Coast)· 2026-03-10

  Titusville approves a new self-storage facility off US 1

  The Titusville City Council approved a conditional use permit on March 10, 2026 for a mini-warehouse self-storage facility on a site west of US 1 and south of State Road 50. One planning board member voted no, saying the city should study how much storage it already has first. A storage build will need site and paving contractors, steel building erectors, gate and security-system installers, and sign companies. It adds storage space for households and small businesses on the Space Coast.

  Source: City of Titusville (Summary of Action)

• Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast)· announced 2026-04-22

  EastGroup starts a 156,000 sq ft Tampa warehouse

  In its April 22, 2026 quarterly report, EastGroup Properties said it began building Crossroads 3, a 156,000 square foot warehouse in Tampa, at a projected cost of about $26.9 million and completion set for October 2027. It is one of four new EastGroup projects started that quarter. A warehouse build needs site-work and paving contractors, concrete and steel suppliers, electricians, and dock-door and loading-equipment installers, then racking, security, and landscaping vendors once a tenant moves in. It adds modern shipping space in one of the state's busiest distribution markets.

  Source: EastGroup Properties (first-quarter 2026 results)

• Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast)· 2026-06-11

  Pasco planners take up a hotel, storage, and retail project in Connected City

  The Pasco County Planning Commission reviewed a development agreement on June 11, 2026 for the Kenton Road Commercial project near Wesley Chapel, which pairs new road and traffic-signal work with a hotel, self-storage, and retail space at Elam and Kenton roads. The same meeting advanced the huge Two Rivers mixed-use plan and weighed a temporary pause on new data centers, so Pasco is steering fast growth along its Connected City corridor. The project will need road, utility, and traffic-signal contractors first, then hotel and storage builders and retail build-out crews. Once open it draws hotel operators, storage managers, and retail tenants and their suppliers. It adds jobs and services to one of the fastest-growing parts of the Tampa Bay area.

  Source: Pasco County (Planning Commission agenda packet)

• Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast)· announced 2026-07-02

  St. Petersburg picks a team to rebuild the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District

  On July 2, 2026 the St. Petersburg mayor picked a development team to rebuild much of the downtown site around Tropicana Field. The plan lists more than 3,600 homes, a park built around museums, and a workforce-training and small-business center. The city expects about a year of talks before a final building agreement. A rebuild this size will need demolition and site-prep crews first, then construction trades for the park, museum, and training buildings, plus infrastructure and utility contractors across the 86 acres. It reshapes downtown St. Petersburg with new housing, culture, and job-training space.

  Source: City of St. Petersburg (Mayor's Office announcement)

• Tampa Bay (Gulf Coast)· 2026-06-01

  Manatee County plans a landfill gas-to-fuel plant in Bradenton

  Manatee County's weekly development list, in its report for late May 2026, shows a new plant at the county landfill on Lena Road that will capture methane now being burned off and turn it into pipeline-quality natural gas for the TECO system. The same weekly lists this cycle carried a new Culver's restaurant, a solar site in Parrish, and a daycare-to-clinic conversion, so the county's small-format commercial pipeline is steady. The plant will need environmental engineering firms, gas-processing equipment suppliers and installers, pipeline and utility contractors, and environmental testing firms. It turns landfill waste gas into usable energy and cuts what the county burns off.

  Source: Manatee County Development Services (Weekly Development Project List)

• Southwest Florida· 2026-06-09

  Charlotte County rezones nearly 82 acres for commercial use in Punta Gorda

  On June 9, 2026 the Charlotte County Commission took up an ordinance to rezone 81.9 acres at 27544 Green Gulf Boulevard from a residential category to Commercial General, fixing a mismatch with the land-use map and opening the land to future commercial projects. Most of the rest of that meeting's land business was residential density transfers and a new public park, so this was the cycle's main commercial move. As the land is built out, it will need land planners, environmental consultants, and site-clearing and grading crews, then commercial building contractors and the retail or service tenants that follow. It sets aside room for new stores and services in growing south Charlotte County.

  Source: Charlotte County (Board of County Commissioners agenda)

• Southwest Florida· 2026-03-09

  Charlotte County reviews a 12.85-acre commercial rezoning on US 17

  The Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board heard a request on March 9, 2026 to change 12.85 acres at 5905 Duncan Road, near US 17 in the Punta Gorda area, from low-density residential and farmland to commercial use. The board's recommendation goes to the county commission for a final vote. If approved, the site will need land surveyors, civil engineers, and site-work and paving contractors, then retail or office tenants and their build-out crews. It adds commercial land along a busy highway corridor in Charlotte County.

  Source: Charlotte County (Planning and Zoning Board agenda)

• Southwest Florida· announced 2026-06-01

  A 131-acre mixed-use town center is set to break ground in Cape Coral

  The City of Cape Coral's economic-development office lists Cape Coral Grove, a 131-acre town center on SW Pine Island Road backed by about $700 million in private money. The plan holds roughly 1,200 apartments, a 125-room hotel, and more than 350,000 square feet of shops and dining, with infrastructure work starting in summer 2026 and the first buildings in the fall. A build this size will need earthwork and utility contractors now, then framing, roofing, and finish trades, plus furniture, fixture, and hospitality suppliers as the hotel and shops near completion. It gives Cape Coral, mostly a bedroom city, a large new job and shopping center of its own.

  Source: City of Cape Coral (Office of Economic & Business Development)

• Southwest Florida· announced 2026-07-01

  The Bonita Foundry brings flex space and storage units to Bonita Springs

  A developer is building The Bonita Foundry at 25211 Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs, with four buildings of lease-ready flex space from 1,500 to 43,000 square feet for small businesses, plus 37 private storage condo units. The project's own site lists delivery in early 2027, so it is still being built. The build needs general contractors, electricians, and HVAC installers, plus concrete and steel suppliers, then the small businesses and tradespeople who will lease and fit out the flex units. It gives small Southwest Florida businesses room to grow with space they can own or rent.

  Source: The Bonita Foundry (developer site)

• Southeast Florida (Gold Coast)· 2026-06-02

  Miami-Dade approves financing for 271,000 sq ft of airport hangars

  On June 2, 2026 the Miami-Dade County Commission adopted a bond resolution to finance a general aviation and aircraft storage campus at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. The plan is 15 hangars totaling about 271,000 square feet, plus office and build-to-suit aircraft maintenance space. A hangar campus will need steel erectors, concrete and apron pavers, electrical and fueling-system contractors, and HVAC and fire-suppression installers, plus aviation glazing and door suppliers. It grows aviation and aircraft-service jobs at one of the country's busiest general aviation airports.

  Source: Miami-Dade County (Board of County Commissioners)

• Southeast Florida (Gold Coast)· 2026-05-07

  Palm Beach County clears a commerce center expansion near West Palm Beach

  On May 7, 2026 the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission voted 9-0 to enlarge the site plan for the Palm Beach Commerce Center on 8.13 acres, adding uses and square footage. The same cycle the commission approved a Del Taco with a drive-through and an East Coast Mulch yard expansion, and it passed every item on its docket, a busy month for commercial approvals. The center will need site-work and paving crews, retail tenant build-out contractors, signage and parking-lot electricians, and landscaping firms. It adds shops, services, and jobs in a growing part of central Palm Beach County.

  Source: Palm Beach County (Zoning Commission results list)

• Southeast Florida (Gold Coast)· 2026-05-07

  A West Palm Beach mulch yard wins rezoning to expand

  In the same May 7, 2026 Palm Beach County zoning meeting, East Coast Mulch won a 9-0 rezoning of its 4.81-acre site on Belvedere Road to a planned development, opening it to expanded commerce use beside its landscape-materials yard. The expansion will need grading and drainage contractors, fencing and yard-paving crews, and scale-house and material-handling equipment suppliers. It helps a local materials supplier grow and keep serving area landscapers and builders.

  Source: Palm Beach County (Zoning Commission results list)

• Southeast Florida (Gold Coast)· announced 2025-12-04

  A 147,000 sq ft self-storage project is rising in Fort Lauderdale

  A five-building, 147,385 square foot self-storage project is under construction at 1400 Progresso Drive in Fort Lauderdale, with 1,276 units and completion targeted for late 2026. It is the city's last permitted self-storage site, and Extra Space Storage will run it when it opens. The build needs concrete and steel-frame subs, roofing crews, climate-control HVAC installers, and security-system and access-gate vendors. It adds storage space for Fort Lauderdale's growing population and small businesses.

  Source: ARCO Design/Build (project announcement)

• We count each business by the date it registered with the state, so this shows new business formation, not the current number of commercial real estate or development firms.
• State records post about 2 weeks behind, so the last week or two will keep rising as more filings arrive.
• The projects come from public records: county and city planning and zoning agendas, county and port commission votes, economic-development board actions, and developers' and companies' own announcement pages. Journalism is used only to find a project, never as the source, and each item links to the underlying primary record.
• Counts cover active Florida businesses and update daily.

Statewide license source: Florida DBPR, Division of Real Estate (Florida Real Estate Commission).

Frequently asked questions

Where are the most new commercial real estate and development businesses forming in Florida?

This report ranks every Florida region by new commercial real estate and development businesses and shows if activity is heating up or slowing down.

How do you find projects before they are built?

The plans are public. Before a commercial building goes up, it usually appears on a county or city planning and zoning agenda, a county or port commission vote, or a developer's own announcement. We pull those primary records, so a subscriber can see a project while it is still in review and reach out before the work is awarded.

Do commercial real estate brokers in Florida need a license?

Yes. Real estate brokers and sales associates, including commercial ones, are licensed by the state through the Florida Real Estate Commission at DBPR. Developers and builders are not licensed as such, but their projects must meet the statewide Florida Building Code and win local site-plan and zoning approval first.

Where does this data come from?

The formation counts come from official Florida business-registration records. We pull every new filing, sort it by industry and region, and update daily. We count a business by the date it registered with the state. The projects come from county, city, and port records and companies' own pages.

Can I see the actual businesses?

Yes. You get the real filings, with business names, addresses, and officers, free for 7 days, with no credit card required. Start a free 7-day trial to see them.

The standing rules and official pages behind Florida commercial real estate and development, starting with the statewide licensing, code, and associations that apply everywhere, then the local development and building bodies for each region. This is the rulebook, not the news. Check it to see the resources a new firm uses, or share it with one.