PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — On Wednesday, Port Canaveral approved spending more than a million dollars to take back hundreds of feet of shoreline and nearly three acres of land for expansion.
- Port Canaveral buying out long-term lease for expansion
- It will cost officials $1.9M to buyout the current lease
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The Port Canaveral Port Authority is closing out a long-term lease on their last section of property being sublet.
A 29-year, six-month lease is coming to an end four years early, because every inch of waterfront space counts for the Port Authority — but it’s not going to be cheap.
The space going back to the port is 825 feet, along with 1.89 acres of land, and 1.03 acres of parking. Two restaurants, Fishlips and Junkanoo, currently sit on the property.
It’s going to cost $1.9 million to buy out that lease. But CEO Capt. John Murray says it's worth it.
“With the new demands of the space industry and growing cargo and cruise sector, we need space for smaller boats,” Murray explained.
He said parts of the property are underutilized and not in the best shape. The portion in between the two restaurants mostly sits empty throughout the day. That’s why the port says with this expansion, they will maximize waterfront property.
“As you get closer to the end of a lease, the folks that are leasing the property have less and less incentive to put any money in fixing structures or anything that has a life span of four years,” Murray said.
All kinds of expansions are on the table, like the port’s crane-sharing agreement with SpaceX. Once the purchase is complete, Murray said there will be space to add more businesses.
“(SpaceX can) use the harbor crane to service their boats when they are here, and pull the booster they use our cranes,” Murray explains.
The subleases will be assigned to the Port Canaveral Port Authority as part of the purchase. There are no proposed changes to the subtenants Fishlips and Junkanoo during the remainder of their lease.