Plain-English glossary · Zoning & land use
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is total building floor area divided by parcel area — the density dial of commercial and mixed-use zoning. A FAR of 1.0 lets you build square footage equal to your lot; 2.0 doubles it. FAR is often the single biggest driver of what a commercial parcel is worth.
In plain English
Residential deals ask "how big a house"; commercial deals ask "how much leasable area" — and FAR answers it. Bonus provisions, parking requirements, and height limits all push against the theoretical maximum, so the buildable FAR is usually below the number in the table.
FAR analysis is step one of site feasibility and zoning due diligence: before pricing land, know what the code actually lets you put on it — and whether rezoning could move the number.
Why it matters on a Florida build
Entitlement work that raises achievable density is the highest-leverage move in land: we've watched a $459K parcel appraise at $6–7M once entitlements for 100 homes were in place. FAR is where that math starts on commercial ground.