Pad Site Search

Pad sites—small parcels adjacent to larger retail developments—benefit from established traffic patterns and co-tenancy. Ploti combines POI data for retail anchors with vacancy filtering and drive-through zoning research to find outparcel opportunities near the stores that generate traffic.

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The Opportunity

Pad sites are attractive because:

• Built-in traffic from anchor tenants (grocery, big-box)
• Established retail location with proven demand
• Smaller footprint than ground-up development (typically 0.5-2 acres)
• Often available when main center is fully leased
• Drive-through uses capture pass-by traffic

The challenge: Finding vacant parcels near anchors requires mapping POI data, filtering for vacancy, verifying commercial zoning, and researching drive-through requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

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Walkthrough: Finding Pad Sites Near Major Retail Anchors

Let’s find pad site opportunities for a drive-through restaurant near Walmart, Target, Publix, and other grocery stores. We need small vacant commercial lots that can support drive-through operations.

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Step 1: Select Your Search Area

Draw a boundary around your target market. In this example, we drew an area spanning Orlando, Winter Garden, Ocoee, and Windermere—major retail corridors with established anchor tenants.

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Step 2: Ask the Question

We asked:

Find pad site opportunities near Walmart, Target, or grocery stores. Looking for small vacant commercial lots (under 2 acres) that could work for a drive-through restaurant.

This triggers a multi-layer analysis:

• POI discovery for retail anchors
• Small parcel filtering (under 2 acres)
• Vacancy detection
• Drive-through zoning research by municipality

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Step 3: Watch the Discovery

Ploti discovered retail anchor locations and researched drive-through requirements: Anchor Stores Identified: Drive-Through Zoning by Municipality: Key Finding: Orlando has the most specific drive-through regulations with clear zoning districts where permitted per Sec. 58.740. Orange County prohibits drive-throughs in the Lake Apopka Rural Settlement (LARS) Overlay.

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Step 4: Review the Plan

Ploti’s plan:

1. Create anchor store checkpoint (Walmart, Target, Publix, grocery/department stores)
2. Create vacant commercial parcels checkpoint (under 2 acres, commercial zoning)
3. Spatial proximity filter (within ~1,000 ft of anchors)
4. Refine by jurisdiction with appropriate drive-through zoning
5. Create final checkpoint with supporting anchor store layer

Ordinance Citations:

• Orlando Sec. 58.740 — Drive-Through General Requirements (permitted zones)
• Orlando Sec. 58.741 — Waiting Areas (6 spaces minimum for restaurants)
• Orange County Sec. 38-74 — Permitted Uses (Use Table 38-77)
• Orange County Sec. 38-1094 — LARS Overlay Prohibited Uses (drive-throughs prohibited)

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Step 5: Run the Analysis

Click Run Plan to execute. Ploti creates checkpoints at each step: The progressive filtering shows how Ploti narrowed from 394 vacant commercial parcels to 24 prime pad site opportunities based on anchor proximity.

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Step 6: Review the Results

24 pad site opportunities within ~1,000 feet of major retail anchors: The map shows pad sites with the anchor store layer—toggle it to visualize the traffic generators near each opportunity.

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Step 7: Examine Top Opportunities

Top Opportunities by Proximity to Anchors: Best for Drive-Through: The Orlando AC-2 and AC-3 sites (Metrowest Blvd, International Dr) have drive-through uses explicitly permitted per Sec. 58.740—no conditional use or special exception required.

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Step 8: Understand Key Corridors

The analysis revealed four key corridors for pad site opportunities:

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Why This Matters

This analysis demonstrates anchor-adjacent site selection:

1. POI discovery — Found 74 retail anchors automatically from mapping data
2. Small parcel filtering — Focused on pad-appropriate sizes (0.2-2 acres)
3. Proximity analysis — Spatial filter within 1,000 ft of traffic generators
4. Drive-through zoning research — Municipality-specific permitted zones
5. Supporting layers — Toggle anchor stores to visualize traffic sources

Without Ploti, this analysis would require:

• Obtaining POI data for major retailers
• Mapping anchor locations across the metro
• Filtering parcel data for vacancy and size
• Performing spatial proximity analysis
• Researching drive-through zoning for each municipality

That’s specialized GIS and zoning work. Ploti translated “pad sites near anchors for drive-through” into the right spatial and regulatory analysis.

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Taking It Further

With 24 pad sites identified, you can refine further:

Which of these sites have the highest traffic counts on adjacent roads?

Layer in AADT data for site quality ranking.

Show me the drive-through stacking requirements for AC-2 zoning in Orlando

Research the 6-space waiting area requirement (Sec. 58.741).

Which pad sites are NOT in the LARS Overlay?

Exclude areas where drive-throughs are prohibited.

What’s the typical land value for pad sites in this market?

Compare assessed values across opportunities.

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Key Insights

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Why Anchor Proximity Drives Value

Pad sites near grocery anchors benefit from:

• Frequency — Grocery shoppers visit 2-3x per week
• Dwell time — Shoppers already out of cars, willing to make secondary stops
• Captive audience — Customers see your business entering/exiting the center
• Proven demand — Anchor presence validates the retail location

The closer to the anchor, the better—sites within 200 feet capture the most pass-by traffic.

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Drive-Through Zoning is Municipality-Specific

Don’t assume drive-through is permitted in commercial zones: Orlando AC-2 and AC-3 sites are the safest bets—drive-through explicitly listed as permitted use.

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The 1,000-Foot Threshold

We used ~1,000 feet as the proximity filter because:

• Walking distance from anchor parking lot
• Close enough for visibility from anchor
• Captures sites that feel “part of” the retail center
• Industry standard for pad site trade area

Sites beyond 1,000 feet lose the co-tenancy benefit.

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Tips

• Toggle the anchor layer — Seeing which store generates traffic helps prioritize sites
• Verify access — Pad sites need ingress/egress from the main road, not just anchor adjacency
• Check stacking requirements — Orlando requires 6 waiting spaces for drive-through restaurants
• Consider visibility — Corner parcels and road-facing sites perform better
• Research overlays — LARS, tourism, and corridor overlays have special requirements
• AC zones are premium — Orlando Activity Center zoning explicitly permits drive-through

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Other Example Prompts

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Bank Pad Sites

Find small commercial parcels under 1 acre near grocery stores for a bank branch with drive-through

Banks need similar pad site characteristics.

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Pharmacy Pads

Show me vacant commercial lots near grocery anchors that could support a Walgreens or CVS with drive-through

Pharmacy + grocery co-tenancy is common.

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Coffee Shop Pads

Find pad site opportunities under 0.75 acres near Publix or Walmart for a drive-through coffee shop

Smaller footprint for morning traffic capture.

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Quick Service Multiple Sites

I need 5 pad sites across the Orlando metro for a QSR expansion. Find vacant commercial near grocery anchors in different submarkets.

Multi-site analysis for expansion planning.

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Non-Drive-Through Retail

Find pad sites near big-box retailers for a sit-down restaurant—don’t need drive-through capability

Different zoning requirements when drive-through isn’t needed.