New Smyrna Beach, Florida

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10 NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FLOR IDA easy access to Interstate 95 and Interstate 4, we are only 15 miles south of Daytona Beach, 50 miles east of Orlando, 60 miles north of Kennedy Space Center, and 89 miles south of the Jacksonville port of entry. New Smyrna Beach is well regarded as a cultural center for the performing & visual arts, with venues like the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Hub on Canal, and a plethora of art galleries. Edwards boasts, “The Atlantic Center for the Arts is a great community partner, adding to that arts and culture theme of New Smyrna Beach quality of life. They have been instrumental in placing artwork and murals throughout the city.” New Smyrna Beach is an ideal place to walk and visit the shops and restaurants. The city is unique in that it has two historic downtown centers. The Canal Street Historic District is considered the mainland downtown and then there is Flagler Avenue, which leads out to the beaches. “It’s a wonderful quality of life that we offer here,” Edwards says. “We have a lot of outdoor recreational opportunities with golfing, fishing, boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking, and cycling. We have one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America– more than 400 species of birds, dolphins, manatees, alligators, turtles, and more.” Education-wise, New Smyrna Beach has much to offer with five excellent public schools, one charter school, and three private schools. They are also surrounded by great high education institutions, including a campus of Daytona State College, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. The city also has its own flight school at New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport. Epic Flight Academy provides aircraft maintenance and aviation training there – the type of job skills that are in high demand right now. The total economic output for this busy general aviation airport, based on recent Florida Department of Transportation numbers, was $171,903,000 with total employment of 1281.