3 million sq. ft. Innovation Park is planned across 450 acres in Brevard County.
Author: kEygrOup
Hines Teams Up With Local Developer for Industrial Project on Florida’s Space Coast
Hines and Key Group plan to develop Space Coast Innovation Park on 450 acres about 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center.
The 3 million-square-foot industrial project will be built in three phases in Brevard County along Grissom Parkway and Perimeter Road, and within the boundaries of the Space Coast Regional Airport’s federally licensed Spaceport in Titusville, Florida.
The park is being built to accommodate aerospace companies requiring more direct access to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral amid the ongoing rapid commercialization and privatization of the aerospace industry, according to a statement from the developers.
The space economy is expected to generate more than $1 trillion in annual sales by 2040, Hines said in the statement. Florida’s Space Coast, about 35 miles east of Orlando, comprises the 72-mile strip surrounding the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and most of Brevard County. The aptly named region receives its name from both the federal facilities located at Cape Canaveral and the numerous private manufacturing, aerospace and aviation firms that do business in the area. According to the Space Coast Economic Development Commission, the 115 aerospace firms located in the region generate a $1.5 billion economic impact and include companies such as SpaceX, OneWeb Satellites, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which is expanding its operations, prompting the billionaire’s move to South Florida.
While rent growth peaked in 2022, high-quality industrial space continues to perform well in Florida. Brevard County’s industrial market, while smaller than Orlando’s, continues to see low availability, with vacancy remaining a tight 2.7%, heightening demand due to lack of available inventory, according to CoStar data.
Kathleen Yonce, CEO of Titusville-based Key Group, said in the statement that Space Coast Innovation Park was designed with input from the Titusville Cocoa Beach Airport Authority, and will provide “institutional” quality facilities that will allow tenants to tap into the resources provided by the Spaceport and incentives from Space Florida, the North Brevard Economic Development Zone and the Space Coast Economic Development Commission. The project is also located within Port Canaveral’s Foreign Trade Zone, which “allow domestic activity involving foreign items to take place prior to formal customs entry,” according to the U.S. government’s International Trade Administration.
Space Coast Innovation Park’s first phase will comprise three rear-load industrial buildings totaling over 639,000 square feet across a 50-acre site and is projected to break ground in early 2024. Phase two includes two industrial buildings totaling 466,000 square feet across another 50 acres, and the third phase will include a mixed-use component over the remaining 350 acres.
The construction timeline of phases two and three were not disclosed. No tenants for the project have been announced.
Hines and Key Group announce 3msf industrial aerospace and defense hub on Florida’s space coast
Hines, in partnership with Titusville-based Key Group, announced Space Coast Innovation Park, a 3 million-square-foot project that will feature three phases of class A industrial product situated across 450 acres in the heart of Florida’s Space Coast in Brevard County. The state-of-the-art project will be located along Grissom Parkway and Perimeter Road, within the boundaries of Space Coast Regional Airport’s (TIX) federally licensed Exploration Spaceport in Titusville.
Space Coast Innovation Park will be developed in three phases. Phase I, which comprises three rear-load industrial buildings totaling more than 639,000 square feet across 50 acres, is projected to break ground in Q1/2024. Phase II will include two industrial buildings spanning nearly 466,000 square feet across 50 acres. Phase III will feature a mixed-use development spanning 350 acres, the details of which will be announced at a future date.
“As the rapid commercialization and privatization of the aerospace industry continues, with the space economy expected to generate more than $1 trillion in annual sales by 2040, we believe now is the perfect time to create a best-in-class logistics hub for aerospace companies requiring more direct access to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral than properties located further south can offer,” said Ryan Wood, managing director at Hines. “As one of the first groups to deliver a modern industrial park to prospective aerospace and defense tenants seeking to enter or expand their operations in North Brevard County, we look forward to partnering with Key Group to meet the critical logistics needs of Space Coast businesses.”
The Space Coast is the epicenter of Florida’s growing space industry and is home to one of the nation’s largest concentrations of aerospace, defense and technology employers, including Blue Origin, SpaceX, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, L3 Harris and Amazon, among many others. Moreover, the U.S. Air Force recently selected Patrick Space Force Base on the Florida Space Coast as its preferred headquarters location for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command operations. The area’s business-friendly environment and proximity to major space, air, sea, road and rail corridors has made it a preferred destination for numerous aspects of space technology, including rocket and spacecraft design, development and manufacturing. Situated 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center’s vehicle assembly building and offering aerospace and defense firms direct access from Interstate 95 to SR-407, with a direct connection to the newly expanded NASA Causeway Bridge, Space Coast Innovation Park is ideally positioned to accommodate the area’s strong demand for highly specialized industrial space requiring payload assembly and transport to Kennedy Space Center launch pads.
“We will collectively work with aerospace tenants to provide institutional grade-facilities and tap into the exceptional resources that the Exploration Spaceport has to offer, including incentives from Space Florida, the North Brevard Economic Development Zone and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast,” said Kathleen Yonce, CEO at Key Group. “The Exploration Spaceport Master plan under way will offer multimodal payload transport and is located within Port Canaveral’s Foreign Trade Zone.”
Major Industrial Park Development Announced for Titusville
A significant industrial development is on the horizon for Titusville, as Hines, a Houston-based real estate firm, and the Titusville-based Key Group have unveiled plans for the Space Coast Innovation Park.
This ambitious project, sprawling across 450 acres near the Space Coast Regional Airport’s Exploration Spaceport, is set to bolster the Space Coast city of Titusville, located within Brevard County. The development, poised to encompass 3 million square feet, will unfold in three distinct phases.
The area, renowned for its proximity to influential space exploration and aerospace defense entities like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, is primed for this significant expansion.
This development aligns with the burgeoning aerospace sector, including Amazon’s recent announcement of a $120 million satellite processing facility in Cape Canaveral. Additionally, Patrick Space Force Base has been chosen as the preferred headquarters for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command operations.
Ryan Wood, Hines’ Managing Director, emphasized the timing and strategic importance of this development. “As the aerospace industry rapidly commercializes and privatizes, with projections of over $1 trillion in annual sales by 2040, creating a top-tier logistics hub for aerospace companies is essential,” he remarked.
This hub aims to provide unparalleled access to key locations like the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, fulfilling the critical logistics needs of Space Coast businesses.
The first phase, set to break ground in early 2024, will feature three rear-load industrial buildings totaling over 639,000 square feet on 50 acres.
The second phase will include two industrial buildings covering nearly 466,000 square feet. The third phase, details of which are forthcoming, will encompass a mixed-use development across 350 acres.
Strategically located, tenants at the Space Coast Innovation Park will benefit from direct access to the expanded NASA Causeway Bridge, ensuring easy access to the Kennedy Space Center, I-95, and State Route 407.
The project hopes to target aerospace and defense firms, with potential incentives offered by Space Florida, the North Brevard Economic Development Zone, and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Kathleen Yonce, CEO of Key Group, highlighted the role of the Exploration Spaceport in attracting tenants. The Spaceport, part of the Port Canaveral’s Foreign Trade Zone, is undergoing a master plan development to offer multi-modal payload transport.
The project team comprises the landowner, Titusville Cocoa Beach Airport Authority, and the architectural firm Ware Malcomb.
This development represents a significant leap forward for Titusville, positioning it as a central hub in the rapidly evolving aerospace and defense sectors.
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Partnership to Develop 3 MSF Industrial Park on Florida’s Space Coast
TITUSVILLE, FLA. — A partnership between Houston-based Hines and locally based Key Group has announced plans to develop Space Coast Innovation Park, a 3 million-square-foot industrial development in the Space Coast city of Titusville. Located in Brevard County, the three-phase development will be situated on 450 acres near Space Coast Regional Airport’s Exploration Spaceport and within a few miles of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Nearby space exploration and aerospace defense firms include SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. This past summer, Amazon announced it is developing a $120 million satellite processing facility in nearby Cape Canaveral, Fla. Additionally, the U.S. Air Force recently selected Patrick Space Force Base as its preferred headquarters location for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command operations.
“As the rapid commercialization and privatization of the aerospace industry continues, with the space economy expected to generate more than $1 trillion in annual sales by 2040, we believe now is the perfect time to create a best-in-class logistics hub for aerospace companies requiring more direct access to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral than properties located further south can offer,” says Ryan Wood, managing director at Hines. “We look forward to partnering with Key Group to meet the critical logistics needs of Space Coast businesses.”
Phase I, which comprises three rear-load industrial buildings totaling more than 639,000 square feet on 50 acres, is projected to break ground in the first quarter of 2024. Phase II will include two industrial buildings spanning nearly 466,000 square feet across 50 acres.
A third phase will feature a mixed-use development spanning 350 acres, the details of which will be announced at a future date.
Tenants at Space Coast Innovation Park will have direct connection to the newly expanded NASA Causeway Bridge that will ensure convenient access to the launch pads at Kennedy Space Center, as well as I-95 and State Route 407.
Hines and Key Group are targeting aerospace and defense firms as potential tenants. The developers expect to offer incentives to tenants from Space Florida, the North Brevard Economic Development Zone and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Kathleen Yonce, CEO of Key Group, adds that the Exploration Spaceport will be a demand driver for tenants.
“The Exploration Spaceport Master plan underway will offer multi-modal payload transport and is located within Port Canaveral’s Foreign Trade Zone,” says Yonce.
The project team for Space Coast Innovation Park includes landowner Titusville Cocoa Beach Airport Authority and architectural firm Ware Malcomb.
Real-Estate Developers Chase Outer Space Business in Florida
Hines is developing a sprawling industrial park near Florida’s Cape Canaveral, aiming to cash in on the booming aerospace industry.
The giant Texas real-estate firm is betting that companies such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and their suppliers will pay high rents for warehouses and manufacturing space close to launch sites that can store rockets, space shuttles, satellites and any parts used to build and maintain them.
Hines’s $500 million project in partnership with local developer Key Group highlights a shift in the real-estate industry. Developers are increasingly looking to niche industries as offices and some retail struggle, and as apartment-rent growth slows. Some property firms are building data centers to capitalize on the growth of artificial intelligence. Others, such as Hines, are turning to outer space.
“Aerospace is really a new and emerging supply chain,” said Ryan Wood, managing director of industrial development and acquisitions at Hines for the Southeast region. “We feel like the real-estate industry hasn’t quite kept up.”
Rockets and spaceships are big and expensive, making it hard to transport them to launch sites by road or rail. They also require an army of suppliers. That creates demand for storage and manufacturing facilities close to launch sites.
The development also shows how the space industry is transforming a mostly sleepy coastal stretch east of Orlando. Hines and Key Group control a 450-acre property in Titusville, a short drive from the Cape Canaveral rocket-launch site. The developers plan to break ground on the project’s first three warehouses spanning 639,000 square feet in early 2024 and complete them in 2025, Wood said.
The companies said they are in talks with possible tenants but haven’t signed any leases yet. The total project will span around 3 million square feet.
SpaceX has launched rockets from Cape Canaveral, and companies such as Blue Origin, Boeing and Lockheed Martin have facilities nearby. Despite the booming space business, the area still has relatively little warehouse space, pushing up rents.
“It is very tough to find space out there right now,” said David Murphy, an executive vice president at real-estate brokerage CBRE. That makes the area appealing to developers despite higher interest rates, which have pushed up the cost of buying and building real estate.
Hines and Key Group aren’t the only developers looking to build warehouses for the space industry. Florida real-estate firm Onicx Group and partner Aries Capital have announced plans to build a 1-million-square-foot industrial park in nearby Edgewater. Still, Murphy said high interest rates and stingy lenders mean few developers can make the math work.
Key Group’s principal Kathleen Yonce said she began looking for land near Cape Canaveral in 2019. The company signed a deal to lease the site from the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority in 2022 and brought on Hines as a partner this year.
Building warehouses for space companies has its challenges. Because rockets are a lot bigger than Amazon packages, the distance between columns needs to be longer and roads need to be wider. But for the most part the buildings will look like any other warehouse, Yonce said.
Hines and Key Group to build new innovation hub in Florida
US-based real estate company Hines, in collaboration with Key Group, has announced its plans to build a new industrial aerospace and defense hub on the Space Coast, Florida, US.
Named Space Coast Innovation Park, the three million-square-foot project will be built in three phases.
Hines managing director Ryan Wood said: “As one of the first groups to deliver a modern industrial park to prospective aerospace and defense tenants seeking to enter or expand their operations in North Brevard County, we look forward to partnering with Key Group to meet the critical logistics needs of Space Coast businesses.”
Phase one of the innovation park will consist of three rear-load industrial buildings totaling more than 639,000ft² and spread across 50 acres. Construction of this first phase is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.
Phase two will consist of two industrial buildings totaling approximately 466,000ft² over 50 acres. Phase three meanwhile, will comprise a 350-acre mixed-use development.
Key Group CEO Kathleen Yonce said: “By partnering with Hines on the Space Coast Innovation Park project, which we designed with the Titusville Cocoa Beach Airport Authority, we’re leveraging their world-class mixed-use development and investment expertise to execute the vision, and giving assurance to the community and our prospective tenants that we will deliver.”
Hines, Key Group Plan $500M Florida Space Coast Industrial Campus
Taking advantage of the growing private aerospace industry on Florida’s Space Coast, Hines is teaming up with Key Group to develop a $500 million, 3 million-square-foot Class A industrial campus providing a modern logistics hub near Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral in Brevard County.
The project will be built in three phases with Phase I set to break ground in early 2024 and deliver three rear-load industrial buildings totaling more than 639,000 square feet across 50 acres by 2025. Phase II will include two industrial buildings spanning nearly 466,000 square feet across 50 acres and Phase III will feature a mixed-use development on 350 acres. Details about the third phase will be released at a later date.
Space Coast Innovation Park will span 450 acres in the heart of Florida’s Space Coast in Brevard County. It will be located along Grissom Parkway and Perimeter Road, within the boundaries of Space Coast Regional Airport’s federally licensed Exploration Spaceport in Titusville, Fla.
The site is located 10 miles from Kennedy Space Center’s vehicle and assembly building and will offer aerospace and defense firms direct access from I-95 to SR-407, with a direct connection to the newly expanded NASA Causeway Bridge. It will be ideally positioned to accommodate the strong demand for highly specialized industrial space requiring payload assembly and transport to Kennedy Space Center launch pads.
Space Coast growth
The Space Coast is the epicenter of Florida’s growing space industry and is home to the nation’s largest concentrations of aerospace, defense and technology employers including Blue Origin, SpaceX, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, L3 Harris and Amazon, among others. The U.S. Air Force also recently selected Patrick Space Force Base on the Florida Space Coast as its preferred headquarters location for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command operations.
Ryan Wood, managing director at Hines, said in a prepared statement the global real estate investment, development and property management firm felt the timing was right to create a best-in-class logistics hub for aerospace companies requiring direct access to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral than locations further south could offer. Wood cited the rapid commercialization and privatization of the aerospace industry and estimates that the space economy will generate more than $1 trillion in annual sales by 2040 as incentives for moving forward with plans for the state-of-the-art industrial park.
Partnering with Hines
Kathleen Yonce, CEO of Titusville-based Key Group, told the Wall Street Journal she started searching for land in the Cape Canaveral area in 2019 and signed a deal with the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority in 2022. She said they designed the project with the airport authority, which owns the property. This year, Key Group, a commercial real estate development, brokerage and management firm that also has offices in Boca Raton, Fla., and Rock Hill, S.C., brought on Hines as a partner in the project.
Yonce said in prepared remarks that partnering with Hines enabled her firm to leverage its vision with Hines’ world-class mixed-use development and investment expertise. She said they will be working with aerospace tenants to provide institutional grade facilities and tap into resources from the Exploration Spaceport, including incentives from Space Florida, the North Brevard Economic Development Zone and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Yonce added there is an Exploration Spaceport Master plan underway that will offer multi-modal payload transport that is located within Port Canaveral’s Foreign Trade Zone.
The project has grown significantly since last October, when Key Group filed initial plans to develop just under 1 million square feet of space on 50 acres, according to FLORIDA TODAY. That plan called for three large manufacturing buildings and six other buildings totaling 917,099 square feet.
Other project team members include design firm Ware Malcomb and Alston Construction.
