County's last commercial frontier tamed. (Pinellas County, Florida)(North Pinellas: Economic Development Report)

County's Last Commercial Frontier Tamed

Commercially speaking, there isn't much in north Pinellas County to make a land prospector click his heels and ride off into the sunset warbling of untold riches held in the scuffed tufts of virgin woodlands.

Sure, real estate experts say, 10 to 14 years ago there was plenty of land for development in the 101,555 acres teeming with forests and citrus groves from Ulmerton Road in Clearwater north to the Pasco County line.

Then both new and old-time Pinellas County residents started the trek north in search of cheaper land. Retail, office and industrial construction soon followed.

"There is land available for commercial development, but it's in scattered parcels and pockets throughout the north county," says Lance Hutchinson, managing partner of Bobby Byrd Real Estate in Clearwater. He suggests a remedy of buying up contiguous parcels and redeveloping them into whatever commercial activity has been approved by Pinellas County's five-year capitalization plan, which went into effect last year.

Available land remains …