BROCHURE copy written for Port Canaveral Authority

Situated at the convergence of the nation’s premier launch site, its second busiest cruise port and one of its foremost national parks, this 51-acre Merritt Island, Florida, site being offered for sale by the Canaveral Port Authority is the ideal location for a luxury condominium development.

Only a few minutes away from Atlantic Ocean beaches, the parcel offers abundant wildlife and views of cruise ships, the barge canal, the Banana River, the Indian River Lagoon, and Space Shuttle and rocket launches.

The location will appeal to financially secure retirees determined to escape cold climates and traffic-ridden big cities, baby boomers wanting a more convenient upscale lifestyle, and highly successful single professionals seeking a quick commute to their workplaces in the thriving local space, technology, manufacturing, healthcare and financial industries.

Just east of the site is Port Canaveral, which attracts more than two million passengers to venture out on cruises to Bahamas and the Eastern and Western Caribbean or daily gaming excursions. The Port’s popular dining and entertainment area, The Cove, includes fine and casual dining as well as martini and tiki bars.

Boaters are attracted to the area because of its yacht clubs, marinas, boat launch ramps, fishing tournaments and more than 60 deep sea fishing charters, plus easy access to the Atlantic Ocean. The Port’s Jetty Park features one of the area’s best beaches.

Nature lovers will be attracted to the offerings of the nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a conservation area overlapping Kennedy Space Center. The national park features astounding biodiversity as it straddles temperate and tropical climate zones. The barge canal, which parallel’s the site’s northern boundary on the edge of the refuge, is known for its abundance of wildlife including egrets, herons, dolphin and manatee.

Other local recreational opportunities include golf at the county’s many fine public and private courses and the offerings of Brevard County’s fine park system. For those interested in the arts the Maxwell King Center provides a series of Broadway Productions and national acts as well as performances by the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Space Coast Ballet. The county also hosts art, science and history museums and numerous playhouses.

The site is 45 minutes away from Orlando International Airport via the Beachline (State Road 528), 25 minutes from Melbourne International Airport and 20 minutes from Space Coast Regional Airport.

The Beachline also offers a direct route to Disney World, Universal Studios, Seaworld and other theme parks as well as shopping at the Orlando’s famed outlet malls and the The Mall at Millenia.

Closer to home there’s an abundance of convenient shopping at the Merritt Square Mall and The Avenues at Viera. Major retailers, including Target, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Home Depot, Circuit City, are within minutes of the site. A regional retail shopping development is planned at the nearby Interstate 95 and State Road 524 interchange.

Residential development in the surrounding area includes a number of waterfront homes on Sykes Creek, the Indian River, Newfound Harbor or the area’s many finger canals. The homes, many of which are recently built or remodeled from the 1960s space program boom continue to climb in value.

The site offers one of the Space Coast’s highest profile locations, situated adjacent to an area of SR 528 with a traffic count of more than 38,000 vehicles per day. Because of anticipated traffic increases, the state has a long-range plan to widen the highway. Thousands of Disney, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise passengers pass by the site on almost daily basis as well as Central Florida residents traveling to the area’s Atlantic beaches. A large percentage of commuting Kennedy Space Center and Canaveral Air Force Station employees drive past the site during the workweek.

DESIRABLE DEMOGRAPHICS

Florida’s Space Coast has recently been discovered as one of the country’s best places to relocate and is experiencing phenomenal residential growth.

Because Brevard County’s waterfront condominium market continues to experience strong demand now is the time to take advantage of one of the county’s last waterfront parcels offering river views.

Even with an influx of new residents Brevard County is considered to be at virtually full employment with only about 3.7 percent of the workforce unemployed, a lower percentage than the state or national average.

The local economy is diversified from its thriving service sector to its strong aerospace and technology base, including major employers like Harris Corp., The Boeing Co., Lockheed-Martin, Northrop Grumman and United Space Alliance. Other major employers include Sea Ray Boats, neighboring the site, with 1,000 employees and Port Canaveral, which creates jobs for 30,000 Central Florida workers.

The county’s 500,000 plus residents represent a balanced mix of age groups. While the retiree population continues to grow, so does the presence of young families and single professionals. Brevard County features higher education levels and a higher average household income level than many counties in Florida and the cost of living is lower than many other areas of the state.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

The 51-acre parcel is located in southeastern part of the central region of Merritt Island, a 30-mile long peninsula between the Banana River and the Indian River Lagoon. The tract includes about 2,047 feet of frontage on Sea Ray Drive to the south and 2,087 feet along the barge canal to the north. The parcel is approximately 1,110 feet at its west end and 1,053 at its east. The roughly rectangular site will support building improvements estimated between 15 to 25 percent coverage or 334,000 to more than 557,000 square feet of developed space.

Within the surrounding area are a Sea Ray boats manufacturing facility to the west of the property, a mix of industrial marine uses to the east, vacant land of Kennedy Space Center and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Area to the north and Sea Ray Drive and SR 528 to the south.

ACCESS

The property has excellent access to major thoroughfares. Fronting on Sea Ray Drive, which parallels S.R. 528, the parcel is only 800 feet from the Banana River Drive and 528 interchange. Sea Ray and Banana River are relatively low traffic count byways feeding into the steady flow of S.R.528, a limited access highway that leads to the Orlando International Airport and Orlando attractions less than an hour to the west and to Port Canaveral and Atlantic beaches within minutes to the east.

Sea Ray Drive is a paved two-lane road extending from Banana River Drive on the East to State Road 3 (North Courtenay Parkway) on the West. The road’s speed limit is 45 mph. S.R. 3 northbound lanes provide direct access to Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. South of Sea Ray Drive, S.R. 3 is a major retail artery of Merritt Island with a Target and multiple grocery stores and restaurants, feeding into additional retail shopping along S.R. 520. The nearby S.R. 520 corridor includes the Merritt Square Mall and Wal-mart Supercenter. 

ZONING

The Brevard County Comprehensive Land Use Plan has zoned the parcel and its surrounding area for planned industrial use. It is anticipated the parcel will be rezoned by the county for residential condominium development.

PUBLIC SERVICES

The City of Cocoa provides city water and sewer services to the Sea Ray boat facility west of the parcel. Those services could be extended to the site at reasonable costs. BellSouth provides telephone service and Florida Power and Light provides electrical service to the local area.

ENVIRONMENT AND LAND

The site is vacant land densely covered by pine, oak, palm trees and palmetto brush. Soil is sandy and well suited to support building improvements. The eastern two thirds of the property is of slightly lower grade than the western grade and is within a 100-year flood zone. The western grade is comparable to the grade level of Sea Ray Drive.