Subject:
Title
Approval of Resolution and Real Estate Contract for Sale of Property to Milton J. Wood Fire Protection, Inc. in the County-Owned Spaceport Commerce Park in Titusville
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Fiscal Impact:
Net proceeds from the sale would be deposited into an account for use on park-related expenditures.
Dept/Office:
County Manager’s Office
Requested Action:
Recommendation
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approve a Resolution and Real Estate Contract permitting the sale of approximately three (3) acres of land in the county-owned Spaceport Commerce Park in Titusville for $190,635.00 (or $63,545.00 per acre) to Milton J. Wood Fire Protection, Inc., and that it authorize the BOCC chair to execute all documents in connection thereof.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
Milton J. Wood Fire Protection, Inc. (MJ Wood Consolidated, or MJW), is a Jacksonville-based specialty piping fabricator, one that works for clients such the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin, including other non-defense and non-aerospace clients. The company purchased a five-acre lot in the Spaceport Commerce Park in 2020, and built an approximately 20,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility, with a yard area shielded from the road, at a cost of approximately $3 million. The company currently employs 25 people (industrial workers and administrative staff) at its Titusville facility.
That facility has reached capacity, and the company now needs more square footage to accommodate its growing client base. It would like to spend $3.6 million to double the size of its existing building. But for the company to expand, it needs an additional three acres of county-owned land in the commerce park.
Before it was dissolved, the NBEDZ – which served as the county’s authorized agent for developing and/or inducing the developments of county-owned lots in the park – was presented with a purchase offer from the company. NBEDZ staff conducted an economic impact analysis on the proposed project and presented its findings to the NBEDZ Special District board of directors, which, on December 13, 2024, approved the company’s purchase offer of $63,545 per acre for the approximately 3-acre site, as a means of encouraging the company to invest in the local economy and add more jobs. The company expects that the project will create approximately 25 new jobs.
Clerk to the Board Instructions:
Provide signed copy of resolution to CAO and NBEDZ.