DeSantis presents $5.8 million to Titusville Cocoa Airport Authority
Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville Governor Ron DeSantis presented the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority with $5.8 million
The Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority has received a $5.8 million state grant to pay the lion’s share of the cost of a new road leading to a future 100,000-square-foot industrial park to be built for high-tech aerospace companies.
On Thursday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis presented a ceremonial check during a press conference in the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum hangar at Space Coast Regional Airport.
“We’ve been optimistic about this area for a long time. Given the current climate, I think the state of Florida is a really good partner for the commercial space industry,” DeSantis told a crowd standing at a podium in front of an F-14A Tomcat.
December 2023: Large industrial park in Titusville near the airport to accommodate tenants from the aerospace industry
Last December, FLORIDA TODAY reported that planning was underway for Space Coast Innovation Park, a future multi-phase, five-building industrial spaceport complex on 100 acres off Grissom Parkway, along the west side of the Titusville airport. Thursday’s announcement represents a public-private partnership to make the large-scale park a reality.
Private Titusville-based Hines and Key Group are working together to develop the Space Coast Innovation Park, which will be built on leased land within the airport’s state-licensed Exploration Spaceport.
Space Coast Innovation Park Street Details
What’s next? The total cost of the road infrastructure project – which includes a two-lane road that can be expanded to four lanes in the future, stormwater drainage and utility upgrades – is expected to be $7 million to $8 million, said Kevin Daugherty, airports director.
The $5.8 million in infrastructure spending announced Thursday will come from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, and Daugherty said Space Florida and the airport authority would also help cover the costs.
Planning and permitting are 90 percent complete. Daugherty said road construction should begin early next year and take about 12 months. He said officials have signed nondisclosure agreements with companies looking to move into the industrial park.
Before Thursday’s press conference, DeSantis, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez and other officials toured Amazon’s $120 million Kuiper Project satellite processing facility, which is being built at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center next to the former space shuttle runway. Nuñez is Space Florida’s board chair.
“We actually have over 160 projects in the business development pipeline right now. The Space Florida team is doing their due diligence. But these projects have a potential value of over $4 billion to the state of Florida,” Nuñez told the audience.
Rick Neale is a space reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [email protected]Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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