Economic development officials are looking for properties across South Miami-Dade that could house aerospace and defense businesses along a proposed regional corridor. The effort builds on Homestead’s spaceport territory designation.
Peter England, chief strategy officer of the Economic Development Council of South Miami-Dade, said he has asked Cutler Bay’s town manager to bring municipal planners together to find suitable parcels. Pinecrest approved a resolution supporting the corridor on Oct. 13, and England said all of the partner municipalities along U.S. 1 have now voted in support through their councils. No specific properties have been designated yet.
The idea started with a company that wanted a vacant 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Cutler Bay. England said the town’s commercial zoning did not allow the proposed aerospace activity, and the response grew into a regional plan. Designating parcels would require another resolution from each community, he said.
The corridor would support the proposed South Dade Aerospace Zone, a manufacturing and technology park on former military land near Homestead Air Reserve Base. The Air Force agreed in 2004 to transfer about 601 acres to the county for economic development, according to county records. A 2024 state law designated certain base properties as spaceport territory.
England said nearly 80% of South Dade’s workforce commutes outside the region, and the goal is to create jobs closer to home. Land is limited, and the county’s urban development boundary restricts industrial growth. The council is focusing on light industrial uses rather than heavy manufacturing near homes.
