Even before the EADS possibility, Melbourne was flying high. In April 2005, Inc.'s annual survey of the best places to do

Melbourne, Fla.'s proposal to EADS included shipping wings via the Atlantic Ocean, then moving them by barge from Port Canaveral to a new roll-on/roll-off facility on the Indian River shore. Photo: Enterprise Florida

business in the U.S. ranked Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, Fla., seventh, based in part on its stable job market and affordable housing. (Fellow Florida metros Fort Myers-Cape Coral and Jacksonville placed 9th and 10th, respectively.) But Melbourne doesn't have a Florida monopoly on transport-related development.
      Straight across the state, near Tampa International Airport, Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. is developing the $17-million, 250,000-sq.-ft. (23,225-sq.-m.) Eagle Creek Business Center. At the same time, it's constructing a 150,600-sq.-ft. (13,991-sq.-m.) DC for Victory Packaging, an $8-million project at Duke's 200-acre (81-hectare) Crossroads Business Park in Orlando.
      Orlando and Polk County are closing in on the completion of interchange improvements and widening on I-4, central Florida's primary east-west corridor. The master plan for I-4 is for the ultimate construction of a 10-lane roadway with the median proposed for a high-speed ground transportation system.
      State leaders have been grappling over details of a comprehensive transportation spending bill at the same time as their federal counterparts. Gov. Jeb Bush's initial proposal, outlined in April 2005, would spend $1 billion in 2005, to be followed by a 10-year, $9.5-billion bond program to pay for new roads. Central to the debate was equity between rural and metro regions of the state, judged against its larger growth management strategy, which calls for concurrent infill road and infrastructure development (including schools) to keep pace with new development.
      In Hernando County, just north of Tampa, decorative aluminum fencing firm Alumi-Guard wants to invest $8 million in a 200,000-sq.-ft (18,580-sq.-m.) plant at Hernando County's Corporate AirPark. The only pending factors are county permits and state assistance under its Qualified Targeted Industry incentive program.
      In Pompano Beach, just north of Fort Lauderdale, FedEx Ground is investing $34 million in a 215,000-sq.-ft. (19,974-sq.-m.) hub that is part of the company's nationwide plan calling for 9 new hubs and 30 hub expansions. The company will consolidate two facilities in Pompano and Fort Lauderdale, while more than tripling its square footage. And the hub's regional head count will be higher too, going from 200 to 356.