Head south on Babcock Street, past Valkaria, past Grant, until you reach the light at Waterstone. This is where the story starts.
Yesterday, I made another trek to Palm Bay’s deep south.
Just past Waterstone on the right, bulldozers were grading dirt for another subdivision. On the left, new homes were painted in various shades of builder-brown. A little further down, you pass another Publix, another McDonald’s, and more gas stations—the seemingly endless creep of suburban sprawl.
But this is only a warm-up. What is slated to happen just past the tree line in this corner of the county is on a completely different level.
Enter Ashton Park.
Keep driving down Babcock, make the left onto Micco Road, and continue over Interstate 95. Once you cross the highway, look at the land running along your right.
Keep looking for the next three miles.
That entire corridor—stretching from I-95 almost to Barefoot Bay, and anchored by future connections to the St. Johns Heritage Parkway—is the canvas for a brand-new mini-city. Surrounded by pine flatwoods and Florida scrub, “mini-city” isn’t hyperbole. It has to be its own city, because there’s nothing else here.
Above is a composite map from different sources. It’s not perfect, but hopefully it helps to visualize the connections between the different developments.
Ashton Park: By the Numbers
Based on filings and announcements from DIX Developments and the City of Palm Bay, here is what is slated for the site:
Total Footprint: Sprawling across 1,500+ acres along Micco Road in south Palm Bay, making it one of the largest master-planned developments in Brevard County.
Residential Capacity: Permitted for over 5,500 total residential units at full build-out, including single-family detached homes, townhomes, villas, and multi-family apartment complexes. This could add as many as 15,000+ new Palm Bayers.
Commercial & Retail Hub: Includes 5.4+ million square feet of commercial, retail, industrial, and flex space.
Town Center & Entertainment: Includes a central 39-acre Town Center with retail, dining, and an amphitheater.
Education & Infrastructure: Land set aside for a proposed Brevard Public Schools K-8 campus directly within the development footprint.
Utility & Access Extensions: Water and sewer lines extended down the St. Johns Heritage Parkway corridor by the City of Palm Bay, linking directly into future southern extensions connecting to Micco Road and Babcock Street.
The Long Horizon: What to Expect When
Because Ashton Park covers over 1,500 acres and carries an estimated $2.5 billion price tag at completion, this won’t happen overnight. DIX Developments is treating this as a 10 to 15-year multi-phase project, but expect initial grading and underground work to begin soon.
Where We Go From Here
For now, driving along Micco Road feels like a country ride. But what’s taking shape under the surface isn’t just another gated subdivision—it’s a major shift in where Palm Bay lives, works, and grows. And Ashton Park is just one of several massive development projects in the area.
For many local residents, the sheer scale of it all—the potential traffic, the strain on city water, and the loss of wildlife habitats—can feel overwhelming. Whether you see this expansion as a welcome surge of economic life or the inevitable end of Palm Bay’s quiet fringe, one thing is certain: the footprint is set, the pipes are coming, and the next decade will transform these open acres into a brand-new hub on the Space Coast.
I’ll be keeping an eye on the site and updating often as the work ramps up and initial road connections take shape.
— Nathan
What are your thoughts on south Palm Bay’s expansion along Micco Road?
Notice: Want to see something added or corrected in this story? Please feel free to send over an email with any local updates. 321southbrevard@gmail.com