Melbourne Economic Development Incentives — Melbourne, Florida

Three levels of government stand behind most incentive offers in Melbourne, with a regional nonprofit coordinating them. The City of Melbourne's Economic Development Division, part of the Community Development Department, is charged with attracting, retaining and expanding private capital investment, and the city says it works in tandem with Brevard County and State of Florida partners to provide local and state incentives. The same division coordinates capital projects inside the city's community redevelopment areas. The city describes Melbourne as the economic and business hub for South and Central Brevard County.

For larger relocations the regional contact is the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. The EDC describes itself as the single point of contact for state and local incentives across the Space Coast, assigns each project a project manager, prepares incentive application forms and manages the process in confidentiality. That confidentiality is why Melbourne's biggest deals have carried code names such as Project Magellan for Northrop Grumman in 2014 and Project Vista for Dassault Falcon Jet in 2022. Program details on this page were last verified: October 8, 2026, on the City of Melbourne website.

The core local tool is property tax relief. The city's Local and State Incentives Summary lists a City of Melbourne Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program offering up to 10 years of 100 percent property tax exemption on new investment from a new business or the expansion of an existing one, and a Brevard County Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Program on the same terms. Grant agreements are considered case by case, usually in place of the tax exemption or to supply the local match that some State of Florida incentives require.

The summary lists several other local advantages. Foreign Trade Zone FTZ 136 offers savings or deferrals on U.S. Customs duties on imported goods. Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) give qualifying firms preferential access to federal procurement. Expedited permitting assigns help through every local permit tied to a project, and Melbourne International Airport offers preferential land and building lease opportunities for manufacturing and commercial businesses. On its incentive programs page the city adds that it can structure incentive programs for substantial projects on a per project basis, based on projected economic impact, so packages are not limited to the published list.

The Melbourne Economic Enhancement District, known as MEED, was established in 2008 to encourage redevelopment that creates new jobs, improves the environment and revitalizes neighborhoods. According to the city, its incentives come from two separate state initiatives: economic development and redevelopment incentives offered through Enterprise Florida under the Department of Economic Opportunity, and incentives from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for redevelopment projects that also clean up contaminated sites. The two sets may be used separately or together, with City of Melbourne staff providing technical help with the state agency.

A citizen board reviews the applications. The MEED Advisory Committee takes public comment on rehabilitation and redevelopment in the district, considers additional areas for brownfield designation outside it, recommends to the City Council whether to adopt resolutions of support for applicants seeking state incentives, and reviews brownfield site rehabilitation agreements. Its members must live in, do business in, or own property in the MEED, and it meets only when a qualified application reaches the Community Development Department.

The city's summary lists the state programs it calls utilized in the City of Melbourne. The Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund pays pre-approved companies $3,000 per net new full-time job, or $6,000 in an Enterprise Zone or rural county, with added amounts for wages at 150 or 200 percent of the average, for high-impact sectors or rising exports through a Florida seaport or airport, and a $2,500 brownfield bonus. The local community where the company locates contributes 20 percent of the total refund, and a single applicant is capped at $5 million. A companion Qualified Defense and Space Contractor Tax Refund uses the same per-job amounts for defense, homeland security and space contractors that create or retain jobs in Florida, which the city lists among programs used in Melbourne.

Larger projects fall under other programs on the city's list. The Capital Investment Tax Credit requires at least 100 jobs and $25 million in eligible capital costs, with an annual corporate income tax credit for up to 20 years. The High Impact Performance Incentive Grant requires 50 new jobs and $50 million in investment within three years, or 25 jobs and $25 million for a research and development facility, with half the grant paid when operations begin. Training programs include Quick Response Training, which the EDC says requires an average wage of at least 115 percent of local or state private-sector wages, and Incumbent Worker Training through CareerSource Brevard. The Economic Development Transportation Fund can pay up to $3 million for public road work tied to a company's location decision.

Place-based programs add another layer. In the Melbourne Downtown CRA, eligible commercial properties may qualify for a matching facade improvement grant of up to $20,000, and the CRA offers public-private partnerships for real estate projects with at least $5 million in capital investment, using tax increment financing to attract the mixed-use, hotel and residential projects the city has judged deficient downtown. In the Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA, created May 22, 2001, grants have paid for facade improvements and Art Overlay Zone improvements, funded by city and county taxes above the 2001 base year.

Federal opportunity zones are the third option. According to the city's opportunity zone listing, the U.S. Treasury has designated three Melbourne census tracts, and capital gains reinvested there through qualified opportunity funds can earn tax benefits. The EDC's opportunity zone program lists a temporary deferral, a step-up in basis and a permanent exclusion of gains for investments held at least 10 years, and its area map covers Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay and Titusville.

The best documented packages involve airport employers. When Northrop Grumman announced its Melbourne expansion in May 2014, AP reporting carried by Manufacturing.net said the defense contractor was spurred on by millions in cash incentives from the state, nearly $21 million, and that it also received additional incentives including the waiver of local property taxes, the kind of exemption the city and county programs describe. The October 2022 Dassault Falcon Jet announcement credited the EDC, Enterprise Florida, Space Florida and CareerSource Brevard with securing a $115 million, 400-job maintenance facility at Melbourne Orlando International Airport, without publishing an incentive amount.