South Florida Triumphs: 2,300 Personnel to Move Into New Military HQ

Though the military won't be increasing its numbers significantly in the Sunshine State, it certainly is about to upgrade its visibility, particularly in South Florida.

In a story reported Thursday in Florida Trend magazine, by year's end the whole of the U.S. Southern Command -- that's 2,300 military, civilian and contractor employees -- will move into a $402 million campus in Doral.

Development of the 55-acre campus is said to be state-of-the-art. It includes the Conference Center of the Americas, a place for hosting representatives from the hemisphere's 31 countries, with a child care center, clinic, fitness center and operations center.

Before the installation was built, the Southern Command was scattered in several sites, mostly in northwest Miami-Dade County, but also in a handful of Caribbean military missions.

According to the story, if Florida hadn't offered the land, Congress might have moved the operation to another state. "It's very critical to keep Southern Command here," said Diana Gonzalez of the Miami-Dade Defense Alliance, the military-oriented economic development program of the Beacon Council.