Griffis Landing On Merritt Island Groundbreaking Sept. 6
By Space Coast Daily // September 4, 2013
2.85-acre riverfront property on SR 520
BREVARD COUNTY • MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA – Brevard County District 2 Commissioner Chuck Nelson and the Board of County Commissioners will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for Griffis Landing at Blue Crab Cove at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.
Griffis Landing at Blue Crab Cove is a 2.85-acre riverfront property purchased by Brevard County in 2009 in partnership with the state’s Florida Communities Trust Stan Mayfield Working Waterfront Program, the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) and the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency (MIRA).
Located on State Road 520 on the northeast side of the Herbert Humphrey Bridge, Griffis Landing was acquired to preserve Merritt Island’s commercial fishing heritage. The site supports Brevard’s marine agricultural industry by providing public access to the Indian River Lagoon for commercial fishery. Crab landings there are the largest on the entire Lagoon, contributing more than $2 million annually to the local economy.
CREATED TO PRESERVE WATERFRONTS IN FLORIDA
The Stan Mayfield Working Waterfront Program, named for the late state representative from Indian River County who represented portions of South Brevard, was created to preserve the last remaining commercial working fisheries waterfronts in the State of Florida. Brevard received $1.84 million from the state, $600,000 from FIND and $385,000 from MIRA to purchase the site.
Thanks to the efforts of many from a variety of organizations, Brevard will not lose its last cultural and economic stake in working waterfronts, nor the jobs it supports. The project also created a local “economic stimulus” by leveraging MIRA funds to secure the $2.44 million in state funds that would have gone to other communities in Florida.
Brevard received $1.84 million from the state, $600,000 from FIND and $385,000 from MIRA to purchase the site.
The groundbreaking celebrates the start of construction made possible by additional funding from the Florida Inland Navigation District. The $304,241 grant, matched by Brevard Boating Improvements funds, provides for reconstruction of the waterfront docks, refurbishing the existing boat ramps, building a boardwalk to Waterway Park and parking improvements.
The project also boasts a unique shared parking agreement with the Island Pointe Condominium Association that facilitated better traffic flow on the site and makes construction of a previously approved marina possible. These improvements insure the continuation of the crabbing and fishing industry in Brevard on the Indian River Lagoon for many years to come.
ABOVE MAP: Located on State Road 520 on the northeast side of the Herbert Humphrey Bridge, Griffis Landing was acquired to preserve Merritt Island’s commercial fishing heritage. The site supports Brevard’s marine agricultural industry by providing public access to the Indian River Lagoon for commercial fishery.
