Grady Pridgen, a developer in Pinellas County, Florida, received approval from Pinellas County on Tuesday to develop a piece of vacant land that he purchased from the City of St. Petersburg for $4.9 million. His bid was slightly higher than Pinellas County's bid of $4.6 million.

There was some controversy surrounding Pridgen's purchasing and developing the land, due to it being located right beside a solid waste facility run by the county. The county wanted to purchase the land in order to expand the facility. Now that Pridgen owns the land and wants to develop it, this is no longer possible for the county.

Pridgen agreed to create a buffer zone between his development, which will consist of new homes, high-tech manufacturing buildings, offices and parking garages. Pridgen says the development will benefit the area economically and he says the homes will allow many residents to live close to where they work. Many believe this sort of mixed used development and re-development is the future of real estate development in Pinellas County and elsewhere.

Two county commissioners, John Morroni and Bob Stewart, voted against approving Pridgen's development plan for the land he purchased in Gateway Center. The City of St. Petersburg openly supports the project because it will benefit residents and be good for the local economy, according to Mayor Rick Baker.

Pridgen will have to work with the county to ensure that its guidelines for his development are followed.

Information from the St. Petersburg Times was used for this report.

-John Mudd