Viera, Florida

Geography

The Viera area borders 8 miles (13 km) along Interstate 95 starting at exit 195 and extending south 3 miles (5 km) beyond exit 191. It encompasses 14,500 acres (5,900 ha). About half of this has been set aside for conservation.

Neighborhoods

The community consists of 76 neighborhoods in two areas named Viera East (38) and Central Viera (38). Included are five active adult communities/55+, Brennity at Melbourne, Bridgewater at Viera, Viera Manor and Heritage Isle, Grand Isle, along with a military retirement community, Indian River Colony Club.

Viera East

The neighborhood communities of Viera East are Auburn Lakes, Bayhill, Crane Creek, Cross Creek, Fawn Ridge, Grand Isle, Hammock Lakes, Hammock Trace, Heron's Landing, Lakes at Viera East, Mission Bay Apartments, Osprey, Six Mile Creek, The Greens at Viera, The Heritage, The Villages of Viera East, Viera East Golf Club, and Wingate Estates.

Viera East Golf Club includes the communities of Aberdeen, Addington, Ashton, Blackheath, Brightwood, Canterbury, Collingtree, Durban Park, Oaklefe, Parkstone, Stratford Place, and Woodhall. Villages of Viera East includes the communities of Bennington, Somerville, and Templeton.

Central Viera

The neighborhood communities of Central Viera are Adelaide, Arrivas Village, Artistry at Viera Apartments, Fairway Lakes at Duran, Heritage Isle, Highlands Viera West Apartments, Marisol at Viera Apartments, Modern Duran, Sonoma, Stadium Villas, Summer Lakes, The Brennity at Melbourne, Three Fountains at Viera Condominiums, Villages of North Solerno, Villages of South Solerno Wickham Lakes, and Wyndham at Duran.

The North and South Villages of Solerno include Capron Trace, Charolais Estates, Chelford, Colfax Landing, Cortona, Daintree, Eason Landing, Gatwick Manor, Indigo Crossing, Levanto, Ravencliffe, Sunstone, and Terramore.

Addison Village

Addison Village, which is a part of Central Viera, has the communities of Bridgewater at Viera, Kerrington, Loren Cove, Reeling Park, Seville, Strom Park, Trasona Cove East, and Trasona Cove West.

History

The land was developed by the Viera Company, a subsidiary of A. Duda and Sons. On August 4, 1989, ground was broken for the new community of Viera, the name deriving from viera meaning "faith" in the Slovak language in honor of family patriarch Andrew Duda, who emigrated from what became Slovakia in 1912. Starting in 1990, the Duda family has owned the property along I-95 and began turning the Cocoa Ranch into a new town with a mix of land uses, including a variety of housing types, offices, medical and industrial parks, shopping centers and recreational facilities. The family has donated a total of 622.7 acres (252.0 ha) of land to various organizations. The following lists the acres donated, the year, and what the land was donated for:

55 acres (22 ha) in 1986 for the Devereux Hospital and Children's Center 30 acres (12 ha) in 1988 for the Brevard County Educational Services 53 acres (21 ha) in 1989 for the Brevard County Government Operations Center 56 acres (23 ha) in 1991 for the development of the Brevard Zoo 74 acres (30 ha) in 1992 for the Space Coast Stadium and Spring Training Complex 32 acres in 1993 for the Harry T. and Harriet V. Moore Justice Center 27.36 acres in 1994 for the development of the VA Clinic 15 acres in 2000 for the Ralph Williams Elementary School 28 acres in 2001 for the Pineda Extension 96 acres in 2006 for the Pineda Interchange 117 acres in 2003 for development of Viera Regional Park and Soccer Fields 15 acres in 2004 to the Veterans Administration for an assisted living facility 7 more acres in 2007 for the Viera Regional Park .30 acres in 2009 for the Brevard Zoo Animal Care Center 12.04 acre in 2013 for the Linear Park at the Brevard Zoo

The Viera Development of Regional Impact (DRI) was approved in 1990 for about 3,000 acres (1,200 ha), making up Viera East. In 1992 construction began on what would become Viera East. In 1995, a 6,000-acre (2,400 ha) expansion was approved by Brevard County as a Substantial Deviation to the original DRI. Application was made for Substantial Deviation #2 in 2006 and was approved to plan for the final expansion of the community. The 11,567-acre (4,681 ha) expansion will include 5,112 acres (2,069 ha) to be set aside as managed protected land, conservation areas, parks and open space.

The Viera Wilderness Park (5,112 acres (2,069 ha) to be set aside during the expansion) will join with the 44,000-acre (18,000 ha) River Lakes Conservation Area, which includes 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) of Cocoa Ranch purchased by the St. Johns River Water Management District in 1999. Additional acres will be set aside within development areas to serve as conservation, parks and open space bringing the total actively managed protected land in the expansion area to over 50 percent of the total area.

Economy

Since its inception in 1989, Viera has attracted more than 350 businesses (over 3 million square feet of mixed use, office and retail space) and over 10,000 permanent jobs, including financial services, health care, other professional services and retail establishments.

A. Duda & Sons, Inc. continues to raise cattle on the West Viera property as well as a portion of the River Lakes Conservation Area.

Retail

The Avenue Viera, an open-air shopping center, opened in 2004. It contains over 100 shops/restaurants with 600,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space and a multiplex movie theater. There are several nationally known restaurant chains and department stores.

Industry

Viera has several organizations, government offices and non-profits, such as the Brevard Zoo, Brevard Public Schools and Viera Hospital.

The first Park-N-Ride lot, in unincorporated Brevard County, is located there.

Government offices

The county's administration complex is located in Viera 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Interstate 95. The government branches and offices include the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners, County Manager, Planning and Development, Housing and Human Services, Public Works, Public Safety, Health Services and Clinic at Viera, Children's Medical Services, Utility Services, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Justice Center and the Brevard County School Board offices are also located within the administrative complex.

Community Events

The developer of the property, the Viera Company, hosts a variety of events each year for both the community and for the Central Brevard area. Several main events include the Light Up Viera Holiday Parade, the July 4th Great American Celebration, and the Viera Wetlands Nature Festival.

National charities such as the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the March of Dimes Walk for Babies, the Devereux Foundation, St. Baldrick's Foundation and the Scarecrow Stroll & Harvest Festival have achieved success in the community.

Federal representation

The Viera area is within Florida's 8th congressional district represented by Bill Posey.

State representation

Within the boundaries of Viera, the State House (District 52) is represented by Thad Altman; the State Senate (District 17) is represented by Debbie Mayfield.

County

The Viera community is located within an unincorporated portion of Brevard County, District 4. The County Commissioner for this district is Curt Smith. The Brevard County School Board representative is Matt Susin (also District 4).

Community Development Districts and Master Community

Viera East Community Association (VECA) is a not-for-profit corporation formed in accordance with the Viera East Community Declaration and is the Master Association for Viera East. It is administered by a five-member Board of Directors and is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the hardscaping, landscaping and irrigation systems on most major roadways throughout Viera East, and in certain parks and recreational facilities. VECA is also responsible for overseeing the Modifications Review Committee (MRC).

The Viera East Community Development District is a local, special-purpose government entity authorized by Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes as amended, and created by ordinance of Brevard County as an alternative method of planning, acquiring, operating and maintaining community-wide improvements in planned communities.

Golf

Duran Golf Club, an 18-hole golf course, opened in 2005. It is located in Central Viera. It encompasses 130 acres (53 ha) in the neighborhoods of Fairway Lakes at Viera and Wyndham at Duran. The 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) British West Indies-style clubhouse contains a restaurant. The center includes a 30-acre (12 ha) complex with a practice range, target greens, pitching greens, a putting green, and 9 hole par 3 course playable at night.

Viera East Golf Club opened in 1993 and is located in Viera East. It winds through the neighborhoods of Parkstone, Oakefe, Canterbury, Brightwood, Addington, Durban Park, Blackheath, Aberdeen, Woodhall, Collingtree, Stratford Place and Ashton.

Baseball

The USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) is moving to Space Coast Stadium in 2017. The USSSA will primarily focus on amateur sports involving youth baseball, and youth and adult softball.

Parks

Viera Regional Park

Constructed on 125 acres (51 ha) donated by the Viera Company, Viera Regional Park has a community center (18,000 square feet), a fully equipped playground, three tot lots, 8 acres (3.2 ha) of lakes, a walkway system, two lighted Little League baseball fields, two lighted "major league" baseball fields, eight soccer pitches (2 lighted), lighted tennis and basketball courts, and two youth softball courts.

The Suntree-Viera Lightning Mighty Mites, an under-10 football team, won the Offense-Defense National Championship in 2009.

In 2010, two soccer clubs with a total of 1,200 members vied for space on recreational ground.

The Suntree-Viera Lightning Bantams, an under-13 Football Competition team, won the OD National Championship in January 2011. In 2016, he SVYFL Hawks (14 and under) won the National Youth Football Championships.

Community parks

Viera has six community parks and a number of pocket parks within each neighborhood. In Viera East, Clubhouse Park, Suseda Park and Woodside Park have children's play equipment along with adjoining trail systems. In Central Viera, Eastwind Park, Westwind Park and North Solerno Park contain modern play equipment with pools for local neighborhood communities. A dog park is also located in Addison Village just south of Quest Elementary.

Recreation & Tourism

The Brevard Zoo and the 200-acre (81 ha) Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands of Viera are located at the south end of the community. Viera has over 100 miles of trails throughout the community and multiple run/walk events are held throughout the year including the Christmas Fit-Mas 3k, Run Run Santa 1 Mile, Super Hero 5k and 1 Miler, Eat My Crust 5k, Komodo Krawl 3K at The Brevard Zoo, and Excalibur 10 Miler & Dragon Slayer 2 Miler.

Education

Viera has three elementary schools, three feeder middle schools, a charter school, and a high school. Plans for a Viera middle school have been included with the DRI plans for the community. Each of Viera's schools has received "A" grades since Florida's grading process started, and each has received other state and national honors as well.

Viera Charter School

Primary schools

Ralph M. Williams, Jr. Elementary School Manatee Elementary School Quest Elementary School

Quest Elementary a straight "A" school for 10 straight years and 3rd best in the district of Brevard County, was the recipient of the Digital Classroom Program grant in 2016 which has provided a 1:1 ratio of laptops to students in grades 4-6th.

Secondary schools

Delaura Middle School, John F. Kennedy Middle School, and Ronald McNair Magnet Middle School are the feeder chain schools associated with the current boundaries for all Viera elementary schools.

Viera High School

Public safety

The local Brevard County Fire Rescue station 47 is the county's Specialized Response Truck dealing with HAZMAT incidents county wide. In 2011, the county opened Station #48. This station is the county's only special operations/hazardous materials responding and training station. #48 is also home to a 9-11 memorial which includes a piece of steel from the fallen World Trade Center towers.