Florida Construction News staff writer

More than $6.1 million was announced this week for military communities through the Defense Infrastructure Grant Program, the Defense Reinvestment Grant Program, and the Florida Defense Support Task Force Grant Program. Funding will support infrastructure projects, economic diversification efforts, and military community relations.

Local infrastructure projects must be deemed to have an impact on the military value of installations within the state in order to receive funding and could be transportation, utilities, housing, security and projects that protect military installations from encroachment.

Defense Infrastructure Grant Program awards include:

• City of Jacksonville – $500,000 to implement encroachment protection and compatible land use for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, and Outlying Field Whitehouse.
• City of Key West – $500,000 to replace an existing structure and construct a reinforced concrete community center resilience hub.
• Clay County Development Authority – $500,000 to construct and install approximately 2.5 miles of asphalt road surface at the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center and increase the road’s structural strength and load bearing capacity, supporting heavy equipment associated with mobilization and emergency response.
• Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast – $500,000 to evaluate and produce a study on the growing demand for natural gas infrastructure at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.
• Polk County – $500,000 to acquire parcels in the Sentinel Landscape, limiting the development of important wetlands and wildlife conservation corridors around Avon Park Air Force Range.
• Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners – $500,000 to facilitate a joint land use acquisition to protect Naval Air Station Whiting Field and its outlying fields from incompatible land use encroachment, enabling the base to continue its current operations and expand its military operations in the future.

The Defense Reinvestment Grant Program supports community-based activities that protect existing military installations and awards include:

• Bay Defense Alliance – $70,800 to continued Hurricane Michael rebuilding efforts, assisting Tyndall Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Panama City with community support and partnerships as the base implements new aircraft programs.
• City of Jacksonville – $88,000 for an analysis on Department of Defense budget priorities and their impact on Northeast Florida military bases and the state of Florida.
• 125th Fighter Wing – Florida National Guard – $500,000 to improve the current road surface, making it suitable to support construction traffic and gain access to the new alternate entry gate in preparation of the base’s continued growth.
• City of Jacksonville -$500,000 to implement encroachment protection and compatible land use for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, and Outlying Field Whitehouse.
• Orange County Research and Development Authority – $120,000 to create a roadway widening design and engineering plan for Science Drive at the new main entrance to the Navy Complex at the Central Florida Research Park.

For more information FloridaJobs.org/Military-Community-Programs.