Land for commercial development is usually treated more conservatively by lenders than most other types of real estate.  The risk of something going wrong with the project in the pre-development stage is considerably higher than with an existing, income producing property.  There are significant political and economic risks in "raw" land that hasn't been approved by the various city, county, and state regulatory agencies. 

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Taking land from its raw state to something on which you can build a structure is called the "entitlement process" and it is the most profitable real estate activity in which an investor can be involved.  It also carries the highest risk, as you'd expect.  Sometimes you might hear the term "land banking."  This is where speculative real estate investors purchase large tracts of land in a community's proposed path of growth.  They then spend their time and effort getting the land re-zoned and subdivided.  Their clients are developers looking to build homes, retail centers, office complexes, and industrial parks.  

Your friendly neighborhood bank gets very conservative around raw land, since it only has "dirt" to secure its loan.  (I've known bank loan officers to break out into a cold sweat at the mere mention of land).  This also applies to private money lenders, too.  You'll usually see loan to values range from 35% to 50%.

Land "draws" (getting cash out of land that you own free and clear of any encumbrance) are usually limited to 50% of the value of the property and only when going to construction.  Actual land refinances are more difficult to complete and are usually held at or below 50% of the value of the property.