Scott Powers
Declaring that it would spur industrial growth at what he called Florida’s Silicon Valley, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $3.9 million grant for infrastructure improvements at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport Wednesday.
The money, from the Florida Job Growth Grant und, is a strategic investment aimed at opening more development along the airport’s northwestern rim, where hundreds of vacant acres of potential aerospace industry land awaits utilities and runway access.
“We think of this as kind of the Silicon Valley of Space,” DeSantis said. “We want to continue with that.”
“You have aviation and aerospace clustered here on the Space Coast. It’s growing, as many of you know. These are good jobs that can come with these industries. When you think about it, there’s really a range of jobs. You’re starting to see more manufacturing. There’s a need for engineering. Everything in between,” DeSantis said.
The Melbourne airport already is home to office, engineering and manufacturing facilities for several major aerospace companies including Embraer Executive Aircraft, Northrop Grumman, Harris Corp., and STS Aviation Group, where DeSantis made his announcement Thursday.
And in the opposite end of Brevard County is the cluster of space businesses around Kennedy Space Center, including SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, OneWeb, and Firefly Aerospace.
“We have a lot of opportunities in Florida with what is going on in the economy, but right here on the Space Coast is one of the brightest examples, with what is going on here in aerospace in this community,” DeSantis said. “We really believe that’s going to be important for Florida’s future.”
The potential for the development is about 500 jobs, should the infrastructure and the airport’s authority lure companies to the property.
Orlando Melbourne International Airport Executive Director Greg Donovan said the airport’s authority already is wooing several potential aerospace companies to come to the northwest side of the airport, once the state grant provides the taxiway, runway apron, and utilities extensions necessary to develop the land there.
He said the area already has what he believes to be one of the highest concentrations of aerospace engineers in the country and believes that pool and the new land should attract more. Plus, the airport already has spent $100 million renovating all three runways, built a new air traffic control tower, and reconstructed a 40,000-square-foot U.S. Customs facility.
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