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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: Write the Research Request

Name the target market in the request. In this example, the geography spans Orlando, Winter Garden, Ocoee, and Windermere—major retail corridors with established anchor tenants.

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Step 2: Add the Criteria

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 Research Approach

The research approach:
  1. Map anchor stores (Walmart, Target, Publix, grocery/department stores)
  2. Map vacant commercial parcels (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. Return final sites with supporting anchor-store context
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: Review the Analysis Outputs

Once the data check was complete, Ploti ran the analysis. Ploti shows the filtering funnel 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

Map showing 24 pad site opportunities near retail anchors
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

Detail view of a specific pad site opportunity
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.