A development boom is brewing under the radar of Floridians distracted by deteriorating real estate values and record foreclosures.

The state is processing an unprecedented number of proposals for new homes and commercial development. If approved, these projects could pump more than 600,000 rooftops onto a market suffering from a surplus of product and slowdown in population growth.

Also on developers' wish lists: the right to build a half-billion square feet of nonresidential space.

Such pipe dreams might seem laughable in today's depressed economy and moribund housing market. But property owners with an eye on the future are spinning plans that have the potential to unlock hundreds of thousands of agricultural and environmentally sensitive acres to residential and retail development over the coming decades.

Mike McDaniel, a planner at the state's Department of Community Affairs for 22 years, finds the surge stunning.

"Instinctively, most people would think there would be a slowdown,'' he said. "And it may be true at the other end, where the developers apply for the permit (to build). But there's been no letup here. It's a gold rush."

McDaniel said landowners, eager to turn dirt into money, are behind the push for a record number of new planned communities. Regardless of whether these mega projects become reality, the owners stand to win.

"They want to get the land use change, strike it rich, then move off to where there are not a lot of people,'' he said.

But where will that leave Florida?

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