New happenings to celebrate in the New Year

What to be excited for in 2022 (and beyond)

There’s the saying, new year, new beginnings. Well break out those party noise makers, Florida’s Space Coast has plenty of new beginnings to celebrate. Game-changing pioneers and legacy powerhouses are reinventing the region into the high-tech hub of the 21st century, and along with all this advancement is coming some exciting commercial and lifestyle developments. So, what is (some!) of the things to look forward to in 2022:

VIERA’S ON THE MOVE

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In the heart of the Space Coast is the award-winning master-planned community, Viera. Known for world-class shopping and dining as well as a home for any lifestyle, Viera’s expansion and positive growth continues to strengthen year-after-year. Borrows West is Viera’s 115-acre +/- mixed-use hub with best in-market accessibility, visibility and convenience. This new gateway to Central Viera offers urban-style site amenities that accent the vibrant, thriving lifestyle found here. Office buildings, waterfront dining venues, retail, entertainment venues, hotels, and multi-family opportunities surround a scenic lake with a bordering walking trail and a unique linear park with a modern flair. The Viera Town Center sits directly across the street from The Avenue Viera and will boast over 600,000 square feet of outdoor lifestyle center options on 62 acres. This central gathering place will provide residents with new hotels, retail stores, restaurants, apartments, and a central park with an amphitheater. The newest additions in Viera’s Town Center will be the 245-unit Luna, a multi-family project developed by North American Properties and the planned 4-story Class A Viera Town Center One office building.

HOTELS, HOTELS, HOTELS

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In 2021, Downtown Melbourne on Florida’s Space Coast raised to new heights, quite literally, with the opening of Hotel Melby, a handsome, swanky addition topped off with The Landing Rooftop bar and restaurant. This exciting new development is just the start of the new hotel scene on Florida’s Space Coast – and these hotels are for more than just an overnight stay. Construction has begun on the new fly-in Hyatt Place hotel on Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) property. The new 143-room hotel will be unlike any other with incredible views of the airfield from the rooftop bar, well within walking distance to the airport terminal, and much more. Let’s not forget the airport’s terminal expansion with Haskell Construction which features the addition of 86,000 square feet of new facilities. Another area on the rise is the Eau Gallie Arts District, known to locals as EGAD. The recent addition of Pineapples and expansion of Intracoastal Brewing Company (another thing to look forward to in 2022!) is setting the stage for a potential bombshell development; a nine-story hotel with about 180 rooms and rooftop restaurant, pool and lounge, a six-story parking garage housing about 505 spaces, a food hall-marketplace, and more. EGAD is just one of four downtown districts on the Space Coast. Another thriving downtown is The Historic Cocoa Village which soon will include a new eight-story boutique hotel featuring retail space and a sky-bar lounge looking east over the beautiful Indian River. Speaking of the Indian River, in late 2021 it was announced that the Margaritaville complex featuring a hotel, marina, restaurants and a 20,000-square-foot outdoor entertainment venue is planned along the Indian River Lagoon in Melbourne. Developers hope the hotel opens for guests by late 2024 as the sole Margaritaville-themed property in the Space Coast market, so get the flip-flops ready, just watch out for those pop tops. 

COMMUNITY CENTERPIECES

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Along with the bustline Viera, other Space Coast communities are taking the term community to new levels. The Space Coast Town Center of West Melbourne is currently under construction and will be a neo-urban, walkable community at the heart of the region’s employers and attractions. The first of the residential opportunities at Space Coast Town Center is under construction now, Integra Station will include 300 multi-family units and is scheduled to deliver February 2022, officially bringing this community to life. Another community in the planning stages is one like no other. Emerald Lakes in Palm Bay will include 3,760 residential units, 2.8 million square feet of commercial and retail space, and 700 hotel rooms and will truly be a destination. 

NEW YEAR, NEW JOBS

2021 brought on some major announcements on the job front. Terran Orbital chose Merritt Island for construction of its Commercial Spacecraft and Constellation Facility, which will be the largest satellite manufacturing facility in the world. The project is expected to create approximately 2,100 new jobs with an estimated annual average wage of $84,000 by late 2025. Space Perspective provides access to space by reimagining space travel. Instead of rocketing away from the Earth at high velocity, you ascend on a gentle, yet thrilling journey and look back at our planet from an entirely new perspective. In December of 2021, the company announced the selection of Florida’s Space Coast Spaceport in Titusville as the location for the company’s worldwide campus and manufacturing complex, an investment which will spur the creation of approximately 240 full-time permanent jobs by the end of 2026. Space isn’t the only frontier expanding here. Dark Storm Industries will relocate to Titusville and expand its advanced manufacturing facility. This is in addition to increased hiring from legacy companies all across the Space Coast.

Note: videos and images are for illustration purposes and may not imply actual final developments.