ENTITLED COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT SITE — US HIGHWAY 231 FRONTAGE
Bay County Development Order APPROVED | C-3 General Commercial Zoning
2.75 acres of usable, commercially zoned upland with direct frontage on US Highway 231 — Bay County's primary north-south commercial corridor. The property carries C-3 General Commercial zoning, the most permissive commercial classification in Bay County, allowing retail, restaurants, fuel stations, car washes, medical offices, storage facilities, and virtually any commercial use by right.
This is not raw land. The property is substantially entitled with a Bay County Development Order approved December 11, 2025, a completed Certificate of Concurrency across all five infrastructure categories, and a full set of civil engineering plans ready for construction.
LOCATION & TRAFFIC:
The site sits on US Highway 231, which currently carries 30,000+ average daily trips. FDOT has committed $161M+ to widen Highway 231 from 4 lanes to 6 lanes with new flyover ramps, grade-separated interchanges, and a direct connection to SR 390 and CR 2321. Right-of-way acquisition is actively underway across 292 parcels in the corridor. Upon completion, daily traffic counts are projected to exceed 40,000 ADT, making this one of the highest-volume commercial corridors in the Florida Panhandle. Highway-fronting parcels with existing entitlements are positioned to benefit most from this once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment.
ENTITLEMENTS & PERMITS — SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE:
The following permits, approvals, and engineering work have been completed:
Bay County Final Development Order — File No. PLDO20250179, approved and signed December 11, 2025. The Development Order confirms the proposed development is consistent with all applicable provisions of the Bay County Land Development Regulations.
Certificate of Concurrency — Bay County reviewed and certified adequate capacity across all five required infrastructure categories: roads and highways, sanitary sewer and septic, potable water, drainage, and parks and recreation. All five categories PASSED, meaning no concurrency issues exist for development of this site.
Bay County Access Connection Permit — Issued December 11, 2025. Site access is via Jessa Road, a 60-foot right-of-way on the east side of the property. This is a significant advantage: because the site accesses via Jessa Road rather than directly onto Highway 231, no FDOT access management permit is required. As the FDOT widening project progresses, direct Highway 231 access is becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming to obtain for other parcels in the corridor. This property's Jessa Road access bypasses that constraint entirely.
Wetland Delineation — A formal wetland delineation has been completed establishing the boundaries between usable upland and jurisdictional wetlands. The delineation confirms approximately 2.75 acres of developable upland on the highway-fronting portion of the site. Wetland impact is minimal — only 0.10 acres (4,307 SF) of total wetland fill is required per the approved wetland impact plan, with detailed cross-sections prepared.
ALTA Survey — A current ALTA/NSPS land title survey has been completed for the property.
Civil Engineering Plans — A complete 14-sheet civil engineering plan set has been prepared by McNeil Carroll Engineering, Inc. (Robert L. Carroll, PE #57988, Panama City Beach, FL). The plan set includes a site master layout plan, site demolition plan, site erosion control plans, site layout plans with full dimensioning, site grading plans with existing and proposed contours, site drainage plans, and three sheets of construction details. Construction details include FDOT Type C inlet design, stormwater management facility cross-sections (Sections A, B, C, and D), weir structure detail (DS-11/SWMF 1), filter fabric specifications, pipe bedding and trenching details, asphaltic and gravel pavement details, curb and gutter specifications, and erosion control measures.
Stormwater Management — The stormwater management facility (SWMF) is fully engineered with retention pond sizing, weir structure design, and outfall configuration. The SWMF is positioned on-site with engineered cross-sections at multiple points. The Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) application has been submitted to the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) and is pending final issuance following minor comment responses.
REMAINING ITEMS:
Only two minor items remain before the property is fully permitted for construction: (1) ERP final issuance from NWFWMD, which is pending responses to minor wetland-related comments — estimated 2-6 weeks to resolve; and (2) FDEP NPDES construction stormwater permit, a routine filing required for land disturbance exceeding one acre. Estimated cost to complete both items is under $10,000. All engineering, environmental, and regulatory work is being handled by established local professionals with existing relationships at the permitting agencies.
DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL:
C-3 General Commercial zoning permits the widest range of commercial uses in Bay County. The approved Development Order and completed engineering work provide a foundation that transfers to virtually any commercial development program. A buyer pursuing an express car wash, quick-service restaurant, fuel station and convenience store, retail center, medical or professional office, or other commercial use would modify the site layout plan but would retain the benefit of the existing concurrency certification, access permit, stormwater engineering, and wetland delineation — saving an estimated $50,000 to $100,000 and 10 to 14 months compared to starting the entitlement process from raw land.
The property offers a rare combination: premium highway frontage on an actively widening 6-lane FDOT corridor, the most permissive commercial zoning available, and entitlements that are substantially complete. Suitable for owner-operators, developers, or land investors seeking entitled commercial inventory in the Florida Panhandle's fastest-growing corridor.
All permits, plans, engineering documents, and survey work convey with sale.
Michael Ferguson
Keen Apps
