TITUSVILLE, FLA. — A partnership between Houston-based Hines and locally based Key Group has announced plans to develop Space Coast Innovation Park, a 3 million-square-foot industrial development in the Space Coast city of Titusville. Located in Brevard County, the three-phase development will be situated on 450 acres near Space Coast Regional Airport’s Exploration Spaceport and within a few miles of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Nearby space exploration and aerospace defense firms include SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. This past summer, Amazon announced it is developing a $120 million satellite processing facility in nearby Cape Canaveral, Fla. Additionally, the U.S. Air Force recently selected Patrick Space Force Base as its preferred headquarters location for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command operations.
“As the rapid commercialization and privatization of the aerospace industry continues, with the space economy expected to generate more than $1 trillion in annual sales by 2040, we believe now is the perfect time to create a best-in-class logistics hub for aerospace companies requiring more direct access to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral than properties located further south can offer,” says Ryan Wood, managing director at Hines. “We look forward to partnering with Key Group to meet the critical logistics needs of Space Coast businesses.”
Phase I, which comprises three rear-load industrial buildings totaling more than 639,000 square feet on 50 acres, is projected to break ground in the first quarter of 2024. Phase II will include two industrial buildings spanning nearly 466,000 square feet across 50 acres.
A third phase will feature a mixed-use development spanning 350 acres, the details of which will be announced at a future date.
Tenants at Space Coast Innovation Park will have direct connection to the newly expanded NASA Causeway Bridge that will ensure convenient access to the launch pads at Kennedy Space Center, as well as I-95 and State Route 407.
Hines and Key Group are targeting aerospace and defense firms as potential tenants. The developers expect to offer incentives to tenants from Space Florida, the North Brevard Economic Development Zone and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Kathleen Yonce, CEO of Key Group, adds that the Exploration Spaceport will be a demand driver for tenants.
“The Exploration Spaceport Master plan underway will offer multi-modal payload transport and is located within Port Canaveral’s Foreign Trade Zone,” says Yonce.
The project team for Space Coast Innovation Park includes landowner Titusville Cocoa Beach Airport Authority and architectural firm Ware Malcomb.
— John Nelson