Kennedy Space Center Operator Doing Lease/Buyback Deal on Astronaut Asset

A total one million sf is involved in the deal.

The Birmingham, AL-based lender bought the 14-year-old Space Coast landmark and its sister attraction, U.S. Space Camp Florida Training Center, for $100,000 a public auction Sept. 25. The sites are 45 miles southeast of Downtown Orlando.

The properties' owner, U.S. Space Camp Foundation of Huntsville, AL owed the bank $10 million in unpaid loans it had taken out in the 1990s to expand the properties. The bank was forced to buy the two assets to protect its investment, Brevard County court clerks who assisted with the auction tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

Under the lease/buyback deal, Delaware North Parks Services, one of the largest operators of public recreational properties in the United States, is leasing the Hall of of Fame building and nearby maintenance facility on State Road 405 in Titusville from SouthTrust for an estimated 10 years, area brokers intimate with the transaction tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

Officials at the bank and at Delaware North Parks couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to learn when the deal will close. But in a prepared statement, Delaware North Parks says it will also be buying the intellectual property rights to the Hall of Fame and will make the Hall of Fame an official part of Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex.

Delaware North operates the Kennedy Space property; manages Sequoia National Park, Niagara Falls State Park and a host of other major tourist attractions; oversees retail operations at the U.S. Mint and Grand Canyon National Park, and food service operations at Jones Beach in Long Island, NY.

In its statement, Delaware says it will operate the Hall of Fame at its existing site but will move the attraction to Kennedy under "a long-term plan."

The fate of U.S. Space Camp remains unclear, however. Delaware North didn't purchase the intellectual rights to the camp or lease its dormitory. Instead, Delaware North will use the activity floor and equipment at the U.S. Space Camp for its current educational programs which attracted 100,000 participants last year.

The Kennedy program includes Camp KSC spring and summer day camps; educational field trips; job shadowing programs for students with disabilities; overnight adventure campouts; and Salute to Scouts days.

As part of the lease/buyback deal, Delaware North will have a formal partnership contract with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Established in 1964 by the six surviving original Mercury Seven astronauts; Mrs. Betty Grissom, widow of Virgil (Gus) Grissom; and other participants, the organization awards 17 scholarships annually to upper level college students and those pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering.

In the Delaware statement, Rick Abramson, the company's president/chief operating officer, calls the Astronauts Hall of Fame "a significant part of American's space program history." He says, "Millions of people will be able to continue to enjoy its artifacts, tributes and interactive exhibits and to be inspired by the NASA story."