Grant-Valkaria, Florida

Grant-Valkaria is a town in Brevard County, Florida, south of Melbourne between Palm Bay and Sebastian (part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area). Grant-Valkaria was incorporated as a town on July 25 2006 by joining the two previously unincorporated communities of Grant and Valkaria. The ZIP code is 32949, and the area code is 321.

Geography

Grant-Valkaria is located at coor dms|27|55|43|N|80|31|36|W (27.92861, -80.52667).GR|1

Surrounding Areas

*Malabar
*Indian River Lagoon;Floridana Beach
*Palm Bay
*Micco;Barefoot Bay

Government

In 2007, the town had a taxable real estate base of $503.37 million. [cite book | author = Dean, James |title = More taxes or fewer services | publisher = Florida Today | year = April 26, 2008]

The town charter reflects the reason for incorporation and calls for future development to be consistent with a rural and fishing village lifestyle that perserves the history and natural green spaces of the two communities.Government services are to be kept to a minimum, density kept low and lot sizes kept large.

History

The community of Grant has a long history as a fishing village, with agriculture also a large part of both communities' history.

The community name of Valkaria derives from Valkyrie, a warrior-maiden of Norse mythology.

A MISTRAM missile tracking system was built by the US Air Force here in the early 1960s. A sister complex was built on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. The MISTRAM system was built by the Radio Guidance Operation of the General Electric Company in Syracuse, New York.

Culture

A largely rural town in the south end of the county, the town includes older homes, newer homes on acre-plus lots andthe county owned Habitat Golf Course, a 6,836-yard, par-72 course set near the Valkaria Airport.

The town has held a Seafood festival, dubbed the "Grant Seafood Fest" every year on the lastweekend of February since 1966. In 1968, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, a candidate for president, visited the Seafood Festival while campaigning in Florida. [ [http://www.grantseafoodfestival.com/seafood-festival-history.aspx Grant Seafood Festival website] accessed February 24, 2008] Depending on the weather, this has attracted over 40,000 people in past years. Additionally in recent years in the fall the town has held Q-fest, a Barbecue festival on the same grounds.The Grant Community Club has hosted the event since its inception, and it is the largest all-volunteer event of its kind. The proceeds go towards college scholarships for local children, as well as summer break activities for the community's children

Transportation

*U.S. 1-This US highway runs along the Indian River Lagoon.

*CR 507-Locally known as Babcock Street, CR 507 forms the western boundaries of Grant-Valkaria.

*Palm Bay Parkway-A proposed highway of Palm Bay, and may terminate in Grant-Valkaria, at I-95. One of the planned intersections would be at Babcock Street.

*The Valkaria Airport serves small general aviation aircraft. The Valkaria Airport [ [http://www.everysingleplace.com/Florida/Airports/Valkaria_Airport_376391.html General site] ] is located at Brevard County Florida and has elevation of 26 feet ASL, Latitude: 27.96194 and Longitude: -80.55972.

*USGS Benchmark AF6225 [http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=AF6225] is found at the Valkaria Airport N 27° 57.583 W 080° 33.200 (NAD 83) with altitude 24.22 ft. On 1/1/1965 this was described by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey as 3.4 MI NW from Grant. 2.4 MI NORTH along U.S. HIGHWAY 1 from the Florida East Coast Railway Station at Grant, thence 0.7 MI WEST along a black-topped road, thence 0.3 MI SOUTH along a drive to the old Valkaria Naval Air Station that is now used as an emergency field, near the NORTHEAST corner of the EAST-WEST RUNWAY, IN SECTION 17, R 38 E, T 29 S, near a point where the drive crosses the runway, 49 1/2 FT EAST of the center line of the drive, 17 FT NORTH of the NORTH edge of the runway, 1 1/2 FT NORTH of telephone pole NO. 19, 1.5 FT SOUTH of a metal witness post, 1 FT above the level of the drive and set in the top of a concrete post projecting 6 IN above ground level. Geodetic control points are permanently affixed objects at various locations all over the United States to enable land surveying, civil engineering and mapping to be done efficiently [http://www.geocaching.com/] . These objects are usually metal disks, but can be any other object that serves as a control point. GCP markers AF0326 [http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=AF0326] , AF6227 [http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=AF6227] , AF6228 [http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=AF6228] , and AF6229 [http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=AF6229] are located in Valkaria, FL.

References

External References

* [http://www.grantvalkaria.org/ Official town website]

External links