PALM BAY, Fla. — An area of Central Florida known as a magnet for criminal activity could soon get a face-lift. Channel 9 has been telling you about this massive property for years as it’s been plagued by violence and drugs. Now, city council is moving forward with plans to do something about it.
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Right now, about 90 percent of the compound is privately-owned. The city of Palm Bay is looking to buy up that land and totally re-write their narrative --- creating projects that could bring jobs to the area.
Recommendations on what to do with the property were presented to the city council Thursday. They include land acquisition along J.A. Bombardier Boulevard, invest in infrastructure and leveraging city-owned land to recruit a development firm to create and operate an industrial park. The move would put money into the nearly three-thousand acres in the southwestern part of palm bay where people have been occupying it with ATV’s, dirt bikes and other illegal activities.
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Back in 2022,14-year-old Jeremiah Brown and 16-year-old Trayvon Anthony were found murdered in a ditch in an open field. In the days following the discovery of the boys’ bodies, police learned the suspect,18-year-old Jamarcus Simpson was already in jail on other charges. In March 2023, law enforcement found the remains of 44-year-old Nancy Howery there. Months later, the body of Nicholas Mitchell was also discovered at the compound. And this past month, Channel 9 told you about how it’s also been a trouble spot for people to dump their unwanted dogs. A volunteer group now makes it their mission to rescue abandoned dogs found there.
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The city said it needs to figure out the legal ramifications of some of these measures so the exact timeline of when people will see some change is still up in the air. At the very least, council members agree they are finally moving toward a goal to fix things.
“This is a step in the right direction,” said Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina.
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