Florida Business Leaders Urge NASA Headquarters Relocation from Washington DC to Kennedy Space Center
By Space Coast Daily // April 18, 2025
Relocation will drive efficiency, save taxpayers money, advance innovation and drive global competitiveness
More than 125 prominent business, academic, and civic leaders have signed a joint letter to Florida’s congressional delegation expressing their strong support for the relocation of NASA Headquarters to Florida from Washington, D.C.
The letter, issued by the Florida Council of 100, positions the opportunity as being “once-in-a-generation” that can deliver economic benefits for the state and help position NASA for its boldest future.
“Relocating NASA HQ to Florida brings leadership closer to the mission-critical operations that define America’s future in space,” said George LeMieux, Chairman of the Florida Council of 100 and Chairman of Gunster. “It’s not just good for Florida—it’s the smart move for the nation.”
Florida has been home to NASA facilities since 1962 and has a strong aerospace infrastructure and talent pipeline. Aligning NASA’s federal leadership with its operational base at Kennedy Space Center could drive efficiency, save taxpayers money, advance innovation and drive global competitiveness.
Key economic and strategic advantages for Florida include:
■ A proven aerospace ecosystem of more than 700 companies and 140,000 skilled workers
■ Significantly lower construction and utility costs than Washington, D.C.
■ AAA credit rating and tools for fast, cost-effective development
■ A top-ranked education system with deep ties to NASA and the space economy.
“Florida’s business leaders are deeply invested in the future of our state, and relocating NASA Headquarters is a strategic opportunity to strengthen our economy, create high-value jobs and reinforce Florida’s position as a global leader in innovation,” said Michael Simas, President & CEO, Florida Council of 100.
“We’re united in our belief that this move will help Florida—and the nation—thrive.”
Florida’s Space Coast gained a significant advocate in Congress as the recently elected Representative Mike Haridopolos of Indian Harbor Beach has been appointed chair of the Congressional Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.
Haridopolos has advocated relocating NASA’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to the Space Coast, pointing out that only a tiny portion of the Washington, D.C., office is actively used, making relocation a practical option.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed similar views, arguing that the headquarters is underutilized.
“The first step is gaining leadership consensus that NASA should move,” Haridopolos said. “There’s little reason for the headquarters to remain in Washington when it would be more practical to position it where space operations are actively happening.”
Related Story:Congressional Subcommittee Led By Rep. Mike Haridopolos to Examine NASA’s Artemis Program, Human Exploration Plans
Below is the letter to Florida’s congressional delegation expressing strong support for the relocation of NASA Headquarters to Florida:
April 14, 2025
Dear Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation,
As business leaders, employers, and civic stewards of Florida’s economy, we write to express our full support for the relocation of NASA Headquarters to the State of Florida—and urge you to advocate for this transformative move.
Florida is the operational heart of America’s space program. From Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral to the thriving commercial space industry that now powers the next era of exploration, this is where mission meets momentum. Our state leads the nation—and the world—in launch activity, talent development, and aerospace innovation. The Space Coast is not only home to NASA’s most critical assets but also serves as the launching point for the future of American space leadership.
The economic case is just as compelling. Florida already supports more than 2,100 NASA federal jobs and nearly 20,000 contractors. But the true impact is far greater: for every NASA federal job in Florida, an additional 16.8 jobs are supported across our state. And for every $1 million in output generated by those jobs, an additional $6 million in economic activity is created. In short, bringing NASA HQ to Florida doesn’t just move leadership closer to operations—it multiplies value for the nation.
Relocating NASA Headquarters to Florida aligns federal leadership with operational execution. It brings decision-makers closer to mission-critical assets, fosters direct engagement with the commercial space sector, and advances national goals for efficiency, innovation, and global competitiveness—while significantly reducing taxpayer burden.
Florida offers a unique combination of advantages:
• Proven aerospace ecosystem with 700+ companies and 140,000 skilled workers
• 22% lower construction costs and 60% lower utility costs than Washington, D.C.
• AAA credit rating and state-backed financing tools for rapid, cost-effective development
• Nationally ranked education system and unmatched quality of life for NASA families
• #1 ranked university system in America 8 years in a row with direct ties to NASA and the aerospace and defense industry
• Deep bipartisan commitment to growing America’s leadership in space
We believe this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to position NASA for its boldest future. Florida is ready—now. We urge you to champion this initiative and help secure the next chapter of American space leadership here in the Space State.
Sincerely,
George LeMieux, Chairman of the Board , Gunster; Chair, Florida Council of 100
Rodney Barreto, Chairman and CEO, Barreto Group, Inc.; Vice Chair, Florida Council of 100
Carlos J. Alfonso, Managing Partner, Alliant Partners Development & Alfonso Architects Inc.
David A. Armstrong, J.D., President, St. Thomas University
Lee Arnold, Executive Chairman, Colliers Florida
Trevor Baldwin, CEO, The Baldwin Group
Brett Beveridge, CEO, The Revenue Optimization Companies (T-ROC)
Tere Blanca, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Blanca Commercial Real Estate
Bruce Bodine, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Mosaic Company
Alan C. Bomstein, Founder, Creative Contractors Inc.
Joshua Bomstein, CEO & President, Creative Contractors Inc.
Robert (Rob) B. Boos, Co-Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer, Boos Development Group, Inc.
Bo Boulenger, President and CEO, Baptist Health South Florida
Henry K. Brown, CEO, Miller Electric Company
J. Powell Brown, President & CEO, Brown & Brown, Inc.
Edward E. Burr, President and Chief Executive Officer, GreenPointe Holdings
Jeb Bush, Chairman, Finback Investment Partners
Shawn Bush, President and CEO, I-CON Systems, Inc.
Alexander Cartwright, President, University of Central Florida
Rita Case, President and CEO, Rick Case Automotive Group
Joseph R. Catti, Chairman & CEO, FineMark National Bank & Trust
Ronald A. Christaldi, President/CEO, Shumaker
Jose E. Cil, Board Member, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.; Chairman of the Board, Panera Bread
Charles E. Cobb, former CEO, Disney Development; former U.S. Ambassador and Undersecretary of Commerce
Ana-Marie Codina, CEO, Codina Partners
Richard P. Cole, President, Cole, Scott & Kissane P.A.
Archie Collins, President and Chief Executive Officer, TECO
Peter Collins, Managing Principal, Forge Capital Partners
Chris Corr, Senior Vice President, Rayonier; President, Raydient Inc.
Tim Cost, President, Jacksonville University
John D. Couris, President and Chief Executive Officer, Florida Health Sciences Center, Tampa General Hospital
Thomas B Crowley, Jr., CEO, Crowley Corporation
Don DeFosset, Chairman & CEO, DJD Group
Nathalie R. Doobin, Owner & CEO, HARVARD Maintenance
Albert E. Dotson, Jr., Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP
Sammy Duda, President & CEO, Duda & Sons, Inc.
Thomas duPont, President, Registry Media
William Dymond, Chairman, Lowndes
Eric Eikenberg, Chief Executive Officer, The Everglades Foundation
Pepe Fanjul, Jr., Co‑President, Florida Crystals Corporation
Preston L. Farrior, CEO, Ferman Motor Car Company
Michael T. Fay, Chairman, U.S. Capital Markets Executive Committee & Principal, Managing Director – Miami, Avison Young
Scott Fink, CEO, Fink Auto Group
Cynthia A. Fisher, Founder and Chairman, PatientRightsAdvocate.org
W. Kent Fuchs, Interim President, University of Florida
Blake Gable, Chief Executive Officer, Barron Collier Companies
Jeannie Garner, CEO, Florida League of Cities, Inc.
Judy Genshaft, Ph.D., President and Professor Emerita, University of South Florida (A member institution of the Association of American Universities)
Pat Geraghty, President and Chief Executive Officer, GuideWell and Florida Blue
James Pitzer (Pit) Gills, III, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute, P.A.
Raymond E. Graziotto, President and C.O.O., Seven Kings Holdings, Inc.
Mike Griffin, Vice Chairman, Co-Head of Florida Region, Savills
Vishaal Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Park Square Homes
Randy Haffner, Group President & CEO, AdventHealth Florida
Jon Hage, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charter Schools USA
Philip G. Heasley, CEO – retired, ACI Worldwide
Alfred Hoffman, CEO, Hoffman Partners
Lisa Holland, President, Sheltair
Patrick Hwu, MD, President & CEO, Moffitt Cancer Center
Johnnie P. James, CEO, Lykes Bros Inc.
Thomas A. James, Chairman Emeritus, Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Maria Jimenez-Lara, Chief Executive Officer, Naples Children & Education Foundation
Todd Jones, Executive Chairman, Publix Super Markets
Kenneth Kahn, President, LRP Media Group
Michael Kaufman, CEO/Chairman, Kaufman Lynn Construction
Zack Kavanaugh, CEO, National Equipment Dealers
Joshua Kellam, President, Garcia Companies
Keith Koenig, Chairman, CITY Furniture
Christopher E. Kubasik, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
William W. Large, President, Florida Justice Reform Institute
Matthew Whitman Lazenby, President & Chief Executive Officer, Whitman Family Development
Paul N. Leone, Chief Executive Officer, Flagler System, Inc. / The Breakers Palm Beach, Inc.
Sareet Majumdar, President and Chief Executive Officer, ICTC USA
Tony Massey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Massey Services, Inc.
Richard D. McCullough, Ph.D., President, Florida State University
General (Ret.) Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. USMC, Executive Director, Global and National Security Institute and the Florida Center for Cyber Security, University of South Florida
Melissa Medina, CEO & Co-founder, eMerge Americas
D. Dewey Mitchell, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Florida Properties Group
Bob Moss, Founder and Chairman, Moss & Associates
Scott Moss, Chief Executive Officer, Moss & Associates
Dev Motwani, Managing Partner, Merrimac Ventures
Joe Nunziata, CEO, FBC Mortgage LLC *an Acrisure Partner
Ava Parker, President, Palm Beach State College
Piyush Patel, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Kyra Solutions, Inc.
Rishi Patel, PharmD, MBA, President & CEO, CAN Community Health, Inc.
Fred Pezeshkan, Chairman, Summit Management
Jorge A. Plasencia, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO, Republica Havas
Lou Plasencia, Chief Executive Officer, The Plasencia Group
Kathleen Plinske, President, Valencia College
Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bank
Madeline Pumariega, President, Miami Dade College
John B. Ramil, President and CEO, TECO Energy, Inc. (Retired); Chairman, GuideWell, Inc. and Florida Blue (Retired)
Steve Raney, Executive Chairman, Raymond James Bank
John Rivers, Chairman & Founder, 4R Restaurant Group I 4Roots Farm
Frank A. Rodriguez, Founder and Chairman, Miramar Group
Raquel A. Rodriguez, Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Stephen Ross, CEO and Chairman, Related Ross; Founder, Related Companies LP
Gary L. Sasso, President & CEO, Carlton Fields
Shawn Seipler, Founder / CEO, Clean the World
Charles Shaffer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida
Neil H. Shah, President & CEO, Hersha Hotels and Resorts
Kathleen Shanahan, CEO, EPIC Media Holdings
Darryl Shaw, CEO, Casa Ybor
John Shubin, Managing Partner, Shubin Law Group
Eric Silagy, Chairman, President & CEO (Retired), Florida Power & Light; Chair, Florida Council of 100 Foundation
Michael Simas, President & CEO, Florida Council of 100
Dane Skillrud, Managing Director, Citadel Securities
Greg Spencer, CEO, Timbers Company
Robert A. Spottswood, Executive Chairman, Spottswood Companies, Inc.
Robert L. Stein, President, The Regency Group
Susan N. Story, Former President and CEO, Retired, American Water
Joe Strada, Founder & Executive Chairman, Strada Services LLC
Shane Strum, President/CEO, Broward Health
Chris Sullivan, Chairman, Consul Partners LLC
David Sweeney, PE, CEO & President, RS&H, Inc.
James “Jimmy” Tate, CEO, Tate Capital
Rasesh Thakkar, Senior Managing Director, Tavistock Group
Christopher Vecellio, Chief Operating Officer, Vecellio Group, Inc.
Leo Vecellio, President/CEO, Vecellio Group, Inc.
Ron Wanek, Chairman, Ashley Furniture Industries
Will Weatherford, Managing Partner, Weatherford Capital
Cina D. Welch, President & CEO, FCCI Insurance Group
Tonjua Williams, President, St. Petersburg College
Michael Wynn, Owner/President, Sunshine Ace Hardware
Bill Yeargin, President/CEO, Correct Craft
Joe York, President, AT&T Florida & Southeastern States
Sam Zietz, CEO, Touchsuite
Jordan Zimmerman, Founder & Chairman of the Board, Zimmerman Advertising
