MELBOURNE, FL—In a sign that Brevard County may see more private companies investing in and moving to the area, Wells Fargo just sold a bank-owned office building for $1.85 million. Wells Melbourne, REO, a private fund out of Florida snapped up the 34,123-square foot Melbourne Corporate Center.

Susan Morris and Kane Morris-Webster of Colliers International Central Florida represented the seller, serviced through Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, in the transaction. The two tenants are a defense contractor in the information technology field and Webster University.

“We were never lacking interest on this building but getting seller and buyers to agree on value was the most difficult issue,” Morris tells GlobeSt.com. “This was a challenge even though the building was 80% occupied at today's market rent—buyers are still looking for a discounted replacement value.”

Investors have been hesitant to target Brevard County because of the layoffs resulting from the U.S. government cutbacks in the space shuttle program or because some consider it a tertiary market, Morris explains. But she sees vast potential there.

“Together with their economic development councils, the county’s jurisdictional boards have been very aggressive in attracting and creating job opportunities in this challenging market,” Morris says. “We see this sale as one of many indications that momentum is building for reinvestment and job expansion in Brevard County.”
 
In the last year, Brevard County has announced the addition of nearly 900 jobs, and has become home to aircraft manufacturer Embraer’s first and only U.S. manufacturing facility, aviation and defense provider AAR’s Airlift Group, a new $28-million Midair USA facility, and a new R&D center at Patrick Air Force Base. Multimillion-dollar expansions have also taken place in the county, including international communications and information technology company Harris spending $100 million to expand its Palm Bay Campus, SolTec Electronics expanding in Rockledge, Fla., and Professional Aircraft Accessories expanding at Space Coast Regional Airport.
 
“Now that space exploration has become open to private companies, many are moving to the area or expanding to take advantage of the “Brevard brain-trust,” the thousands of scientists and engineers already here, along with the infrastructure of the Kennedy Space Center,” Morris-Webster said in a statement. “We are representing several locations in Brevard County and expect to see a lot of activity and growth in this market in 2012.”