The Palm Bay City Council may give new life to an area of the city that some have dubbed a ghost town.
It’s not a well-known fact, but city leaders say Palm Bay is the second largest city in the Central Florida but it doesn’t have a downtown, a convention center or large gathering space of its own.
The city council is working on plans to build a public special event venue but as the city grows and expands, they’re losing space.
One large section of land known as The Compound in southwest Palm Bay is being considered for the public venue.
The General Development Company had plotted the land, sold lots and built roads in the 1980s and early 1990s but the company went bankrupt and abandoned plans.
Now the city is thinking the area could be a good event space.
“The sky is the limit on the amount of events that we could do here in the city, we need a place to call home and our own to host these events,” said Heidi Lapin from the Palm Bay Parks and Recreation Department.
City leaders said current locations for special events are either too small or aren’t owned by the city, so that’s why they want a special event venue.
The Compound is big enough to hold it but it consists of a series of privately owned parcels so the city would have to take action to buy some.
They are also looking at other locations and the council is hoping to make a decision soon on a 100 acre area for the new project.