Real Estate In Brevard County
Melbourne, Florida

High Tech Center of the Southeast

The City of Melbourne is located on east central Florida's Space Coast in the southern portion of Brevard County about an hour's drive south of the Kennedy Space Center and 1.5 hours drive due east of Disney World. While most of Melbourne is located on the Florida mainland, a small, narrow strip of land is located on an Atlantic Ocean barrier island.

Separating the mainland from the island is The Indian River Lagoon. (In prehistoric times the Lagoon was connected to the Ocean. Today, the only connection is by way of a handful of inlets, including the manmade Sebastian Inlet at the southern end of Brevard County.) Spanning the Indian River Lagoon to connect the mainland to the barrier island are a pair of four-lane, high-rise bridges -- the Melbourne Causeway and the Eau Gallie Causeway.

In a very roundabout way, Melbourne is named in honor of Cornwaithe John Hector, an Englishman. In 1880 Hector was granted a permit to operate a post office. Three names were put up for consideration for its name and the winner was drawn by Mrs. Richard Goode, whose family had first settled the area. She drew Hector's name and chose to call the place "Melbourne" in his honor. It seems Hector had spent some time in Melbourne, Australia, as a lad and Mrs. Goode chose to memorialize a place Hector had visited rather than his own name.

The contemporary City is the result of a merger of the separate communities of Melbourne and Eau Gallie. An election allowed the consolidation under a common charter on July 15, 1969. Today, the City is approximately 35.4 square miles in size, with about 75% of that land in use. The population is 73,597 (according to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research), and is still experiencing modest growth each year.

The City of Melbourne's Leisure Services Department operates and maintains two outstanding golf courses. Both offer opportunities for beginners and advanced golfers and are considered to be among the best public golf courses in Central Florida. The courses are managed to meet the needs of today's golfer at reasonable rates and are located in convenient areas of town.

The Space Coast is known as a high-tech center of the Southeast. The Melbourne vicinity is home to major employers including Harris Corporation, Rockwell Collins, Florida Institute of Technology, Holmes Regional Hospital, Northrop Grumman Corporation - Surveillance and Battle Management Systems, Dictaphone, GE Transportation Systems and Rossi Electronics, Florida TODAY (Gannett) Newspaper, Brevard Community College, and the Brevard County School Board.

Melbourne promotes economic development and is actively engaged in revitalization efforts in three real estate areas of the city. The metropolitan area has been ranked as one of the most affordable in the nation for homebuyers in a survey by the National Association of Home Builders. The 1998 "Money" Magazine 'Best Places' survey rated Melbourne and Brevard County 7th among medium-sized Southern communities.

The Melbourne International Airport serves the communities of Florida's Space and Treasure Coasts with domestic and international passenger and air freight service. The new terminal facilities were completed in 1991 and a new international terminal and air freight facility opened in 1995 at a cost of about $35-million.

Municipal government is responsible for providing vital services to City residents. In addition, drinking water services are provided to customers in a regional area that includes several other municipalities. To accomplish its mission, the City employs over 900 employees, including seasonal and part-time workers.

The City served as an official host city for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic flame was carried across the nation before reaching Atlanta and the Olympic Centennial Games and thousands of area residents enjoyed seeing the Torch Relay, which symbolized the competitive and unifying spirit of the Olympic Games.

Statistics
Population (year 2000): 71,382
Elevation: 21 feet
Median resident age: 39.8 years
Median household income: $34,571 (year 2000)
Median house value: $85,400 (year 2000)

Hospitals/medical centers:
CIRCLES OF CARE INC (400 E SHERIDAN RD)
HEALTHSOUTH SEA PINES HOSPITAL (101 EAST FLORIDA AVENUE)
HOLMES REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (1350 S HICKORY ST)

Airports certified for carrier operation:
MELBOURNE INTL (about 2 miles; MELBOURNE, FL; ID: MLB)
PATRICK AFB (about 9 miles; COCOA BEACH, FL; ID: COF)
CAPE CANAVERAL AFS SKID STRIP (about 25 miles; COCOA BEACH, FL; ID: XMR)
Other public-use airports nearest to Melbourne:
VALKARIA (about 13 miles; VALKARIA, FL; ID: X59)
MERRITT ISLAND (about 16 miles; MERRITT ISLAND, FL; ID: COI)
SEBASTIAN MUNI (about 24 miles; SEBASTIAN, FL; ID: X26

Colleges/Universities:
FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY-MELBOURNE (150 W UNIVERSITY BLVD; Private, not-for-profit; Website: www.fit.edu; Offers Doctor's degree)
HERZING COLLEGE (1270 N WICKHAM RD STE 51; Private, for-profit)
FLORIDA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY-MELBOURNE (2401 N HARBOR CITY BLVD; Private, for-profit; Website: www.cci.edu/fmu/fmuhome.htm; Offers Master's degree)
INSTITUTE OF LEGAL AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONS (1600 SARNO RD STE 107; Private, not-for-profit)
MELBOURNE BEAUTY SCHOOL (686 N WICKHAM RD; Private, for-profit)
AMERICAN RED CROSS BREVARD COUNTY CHAPTER (1150 S HICKORY ST; Private, not-for-profit)
Melbourne Beauty School (626 Wickham Rd.; Private, for-profit)
KEISER COLLEGE-MELBOURNE (900 S BABCOCK ST; Private, for-profit; Website: www.keisercollege.cc.fl.us)
CHEMISTRY OF BEAUTY SPECIALTIES (1270 N WICKHAM RD STE 17 & 18; Private, for-profit)

Other colleges/universities with over 2000 students:
BREVARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE-COCOA CAMPUS (about 19 miles; COCOA, FL)
INDIAN RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE (about 52 miles; FT PIERCE, FL)
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA (about 54 miles; ORLANDO, FL)
VALENCIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE (about 57 miles; ORLANDO, FL)
ROLLINS COLLEGE (about 61 miles; WINTER PARK, FL)
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX-ORLANDO CAMPUS (about 62 miles; MAITLAND, FL)
SEMINOLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE (about 64 miles; SANFORD, FL)

Public high schools:
MELBOURNE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (Grades: 09 - 12)
EAU GALLIE HIGH SCHOOL (Grades: 09 - 12)
PALM BAY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (Grades: 09 - 12)
WEST SHORE JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (Grades: 07 - 12)

Private high schools:
MELBOURNE CENTRAL CATHOLIC HS (100 E FLORIDA AVE; Grades: 9 - 12)
FLORIDA AIR ACADEMY (1950 S ACADEMY DR; Grades: 7 - 12; Boys only)
COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INC (1616 FERNDALE AVENUE; Grades: PK - 12)
WADE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (4300 N WICKHAM; Grades: KG - 12)
SEASIDE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 399 E EAU GALLIE BLVD; Grades: PK - 12)

Biggest public primary/middle schools:
SUNTREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
LONGLEAF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
LYNDON B. JOHNSON MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grades: 07 - 08)
DR. W.J. CREEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
STONE MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grades: 07 - 08)
SHERWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
HARBOR CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
ROY ALLEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
UNIVERSITY PARK ELEMENTARY MAGNET SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)
CROTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades: PK - 06)

Biggest private primary/middle schools:
ASCENSION CATHOLIC SCHOOL ( 2950 N HARBOR CITY BLVD; Grades: PK - 8)
HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL SCHOOL 50 W STRAWBRIDGE AVENUE; Grades: PK - 9)
OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL ( 420 EAST FEE AVENUE; Grades: PK - 8)
SUNTREE UNITED METH KIND (7400 NORTH WICKHAM ROAD; Grades: PK - KG)
EAU GALLIE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (1660 CROTON ROAD; Grades: PK - 4)
WEST MELBOURNE CHRISTIAN ACAD (3150 MILWAUKEE AVENUE; Grades: PK - 11)
FIRST UNITED METHODIST PRESCHO (110 E NEW HAVEN AVE; Grades: PK - 2)
FAITH FELLOWSHIP ACADEMY 2820 BUSINESS CENTER BLVD; Grades: PK - 11)
BREVARD JEWISH COMM TEMPLE (5995 N WICKHAM ROAD; Grades: PK - 1)
MELBOURNE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIS (210 W NEW HAVEN; Grades: PK - 8)