DIX Developments paid $74 million cash Monday for 1,134 acres on Florida’s Space Coast for the bulk of its future Ashton Park master-planned community.
The Maitland-based developer acquired the land in southeast Palm Bay through its affiliate, Lake Griffin Property Group. The transaction represented the second of three planned acquisitions that will fully assemble the 1,568-acre Ashton Park, a $2.5 billion mixed-use development just east of I-95.
Dix paid $15.6 million in late December for the first takedown, which included 302 acres along Micco Road that will house a 101-lot equestrian neighborhood.
CEO James Dicks credited seller Dan Logan, who he said was instrumental in getting the property across the finish line. “It takes an immense amount of cooperation between buyer and seller to bring a project of this scale to closing.”
Dix annexed the entire project into the City of Palm Bay in 2024 and is zoning it for the master-planned community with thousands of new homes and apartments, a town center, school and a commerce park.
Upon completion, the project will include:
- 961 Single-Family Homes
- 1,037 Apartments
- 1.5 Million Square Feet of Flex Space
- 3.9 Million Square Feet of Commercial/Industrial Space
- A 133-Acre Town Center
The town center will feature retail, dining, and entertainment options, fostering a pedestrian-friendly environment. Additionally, plans include a potential Brevard County K-8 school. Dicks said the final closing, set for April 15, will include and 222 townhouse lots.
“Ashton Park’s full assemblage will be complete in April, and we are excited to reach this major milestone,” Dicks added. “This project is a long-term commitment to the City of Palm Bay and Brevard County, designed to meet the growing demand for jobs, housing, and commercial services.”
Dicks said the final approval for the comprehensive plan amendment should take about four months. All three phases will go in for rezoning at the same time at a mixed-use planned development.
He said the Ashton Park North section will be phase 1, and the first houses should be underway by the third quarter of 2026.
Ashton Park has easy access to I-95 with a new interchange at St. Johns Parkway, and it’s about 15 minutes from the Melbourne Airport, which has attracted explosive growth from the defense industry.
Jake Wise of Melbourne-based Construction Engineering Group led the planning effort, while Christian Oquendo of CBA Architects took the design lead. Dusty Calderon with Saunders Real Estate brokered the sale.
Calderon helped pull the deal together even though the property wasn’t listed for sale and it was assembled from nine different owners.
“I actually tried for this piece years ago, and the guy who had control of most of it didn’t want to sell way back then,” Calderson told GrowthSpotter. But when Dicks asked him to find some land in Palm Bay, he went back to the Lee and Logan families to work it out.
“It was a lot of work, but Mr. James and his team, Scott Prewitt, they’re like Mike Tyson used to be. Their defense is inpregnibale,” Calderson said.
Dix Developments currently controls approximately 4,900 acres in Florida, with plans for over 15,000 residential lots, 3,000 apartment
units, and 3 million square feet of commercial and retail development.
Dicks told GrowthSpotter he has purchase contract from D.R. Horton for all 916 homesites in the Roan Bridge mixed-use development in St. Cloud. The PUD also includes entitlements for 408 multifamily units and 100,000 square feet of commercial and retail uses, as well as a K-8 public school campus and fire station site.
Last month, Dix purchased the 74-acre Blake Ridge property in Leesburg for a 216-lot subdivision that will be part of a larger community development district just outside of The Villages.
“They’re really good at what they do,” Calderon said. “They’re as honest as the day is long. He’s the easist developer I’ve ever worked with.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
