Business View Magazine | September 2019

243 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 On the heels of the incorporation, the Palm Bay’s industrial base began to grow. One of the city’s first major industrial corporations, Radiation Inc., later evolved into the Harris Corporation, now known as L3Harris following a merger with L3 Technologies earlier this year. L3Harris is a technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider which still serves as the city’s major employer. In an article published by USA Today on March 25, 2019, the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was ranked as number 12 in the United States with the “most high-tech jobs” with nearly 10 percent of workers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, employing 206,760 persons. The most common STEM job in the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville MSA is aerospace engineering and operations technicians. Recently, Business View Magazine contacted Palm Bay’s new City Manager, Lisa Morrell, to find out about current projects and initiatives taking place in this growing metropolis of 112,000 residents. The following is an edited version of the written summary that she provided. City of Palm Bay Development Highlights - September 2019 Aqua Palm Bay Apartments Slated for completion in late 2019, the $37.3 million project consists of 320 luxury apartments at the north end of Robert J. Conlan Boulevard NE along the US1 corridor. Spread over four residential buildings, the first phase of the project will be named Aqua Palm Bay Apartments and will include apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. The project has been designed with the modern professional in mind and will feature amenities such as outdoor fitness equipment, electric vehicle charging, pool and patio space, and a dog park. The second phase of this project, known as Aqua Retail Shoppes, will feature the development of nearly 60,000 square feet of commercial outparcels, providing for retail, restaurants, bars, cafes, entertainment venues and similar establishments. The Aqua development project is expected to yield approximately $52.9 PALM BAY , FLOR IDA