Space Florida and NASA broke ground Friday on a high-tech commerce park at the Kennedy Space Center, bolstering the state's position for future space-related ventures.
Exploration Park will house aerospace-related activities for commercial, civil and military tenants.
Phase 1 is scheduled to involve eight buildings spanning 315,000 square feet. Overall, Space Florida has signed a 60-year lease with NASA to develop 60 acres of usable space at KSC.
Six letters of intent have been signed by potential tenants of the spec project's initial phase, slated to open in early 2012.
The 2010 Legislature allocated $7.5 million from the Economic Development Transportation Trust Fund for horizontal infrastructure development in Phase 1.
Pizzuti Companies was selected as the master developer of Exploration Park, and will assist in securing tenants, and will also manage and maintain the property.
Todays groundbreaking is a tremendous milestone in the transformation of Floridas $8-billion-a-year space industry and will enable the Sunshine State to tap into a greater share of the $250-billion global space marketplace, Gov. Charlie Crist said Friday.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, hailed the project as a job generator.
As we work to minimize the human spaceflight gap, we must also take steps to diversify the Space Coast economy and create new job opportunities for our highly skilled work force. Exploration Park represents an exciting opportunity to attract new businesses in high-growth industries to our community," Kosmas said.
Space Florida President Frank DiBello estimated that "more than 1,700 jobs are possible within Phase 1 of this park."
"We look forward to working with a wide variety of innovative companies to establish and grow their operations here, DiBello said.
U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, said Exploration Park further solidifies Florida's standing in space-related ventures.
"If you're looking to invest in space anywhere in the country, this project sends a great message. This isn't just a promise, it's happening," he said.
"It's a real credit to NASA and Space Florida that they came to terms with all the longstanding issues relating to leases, liability and security. The state stepped up in a big way to bring forth development of this park," Posey said.
The congressman also praised Pizzuti chairman and CEO Ron Pizzuti for pursuing the public-private venture.
"The company is putting its money where its mouth is," Posey said.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
