&Barr and the Rise of Florida’s Space Coast

By: Pete Barr, President & CEO

A personal reflection on Brevard County, the space economy, and why &Barr is deepening its commitment to Florida’s east coast.

There are some places that simply become part of who you are.

For me, Brevard County has always been one of those places.

Long before people called it the “Space Economy,” before billionaires and private rockets and Mars missions dominated headlines, Brevard was already magic to me. As a lifelong Central Floridian, I grew up watching launches streak across the sky during the Apollo era. Even as a kid, standing outside and looking east toward Cape Canaveral, you knew you were witnessing something extraordinary.

Today, decades later, I still feel that same sense of excitement every single time a rocket lifts off.

Only now, I often watch from the deck of my boat on the Indian River, sometimes just six miles from the launch pads and feel the rumble in my chest as another mission climbs into the sky. The wonder never gets old.

In many ways, Brevard County represents the very best of Florida to me. It is quiet and peaceful and fresh. It is rivers and lagoons, and wildlife preserves and old Florida fish camps. At the same time, it is bustling and growing and aiming toward the moon and Mars.

What an incredible moment to witness.

Today, the Space Coast is booming unlike anything we have seen in generations. Last year alone, there were 109 launches from Florida’s east coast, helping make Brevard County the rocket launch capital of the world once again. But the launches are only part of the story.

The ripple effects are everywhere.

Tourism is surging. Cruise traffic continues to expand through Port Canaveral. New residential communities are rising across the county. Healthcare systems are growing. Restaurants, hotels, eco-tour operators, technology companies, sports tourism, and advanced manufacturing are all accelerating alongside the renewed energy of the space industry.

This is not simply growth.

This is transformation.

And it is one of the most exciting regional growth stories in America today.

At &Barr, we believe deeply in the future of Brevard County because, in many ways, it has always been part of our story too.

&Barr was founded in Orlando in 1957, and our roots throughout Central Florida run deep. More than 50 years ago, when our agency was known as Fry-Hammond-Barr, we represented the State of Florida’s tourism efforts through the Florida Development Commission. During that time, one of our founders, my father Pete Barr Sr., helped develop and name Florida’s original “12 Great Regions.”

That was when the “Space Coast” was officially branded.

Many of those original regional names still exist throughout Florida today, but the Space Coast name has become iconic worldwide. It represents innovation, imagination, discovery, and possibility. To think that our agency helped shape that identity decades ago makes our connection to Brevard feel especially meaningful today.

But my connection to Brevard has always been more personal than professional.

For nearly 18 years, until 2018, I owned a small fish camp property on Grant Farm Island in southern Brevard County. I purchased it from the original owner, homesteader, and builder. Back then, my son and I spent nearly every weekend there together.

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn we were.

We fished on the Indian River Lagoon, surfed the beaches, explored the islands, cooked over campfires, and experienced the incredible beauty of old Florida in a way that fewer and fewer people get to experience today.

Those memories remain some of the most meaningful of my life.

Today, my custom 1966 Bertram 25 is moored at Cocoa Village Marina, just 45 minutes from my office in downtown Orlando. In less than an hour, I can leave the city behind and find myself on the river asking the same simple question every boater asks there:

Do I head north or south?

And every trip reveals something new.

With 72 miles of coastline, waterways, towns, nature, businesses, and communities, Brevard County still feels like a place of discovery to me.

And maybe that spirit of discovery is what defines the Space Coast best.

It is not only about rockets.

It is about exploration.

Exploration of technology.
Exploration of business.
Exploration of tourism.
Exploration of nature.
Exploration of what comes next.

At &Barr, we believe the next chapter of Brevard County is just beginning.

As an agency headquartered only 45 minutes away in Orlando, &Barr has already had the opportunity to support organizations helping shape the future of the Space Coast, and see even greater opportunity to become even more connected to the businesses, organizations, and communities shaping the future of the Space Coast. Through this work, we’ve developed a deep understanding of how branding, tourism, population growth, media, and consumer behavior intersect with the evolving space economy.

Recently, our team conducted proprietary research exploring how launches and space-related activity influence travel planning, visitor behavior, and regional spending. What we found confirmed what many locals already feel intuitively: launches are no longer just scientific events, they are economic engines.

People are traveling to experience them.
Businesses are benefiting from them.
Communities are growing around them.

The Space Coast has become both a destination and a symbol of momentum.

That is why &Barr is continuing to deepen its focus on Brevard County. In the months ahead, we will be investing more time, energy, research, storytelling, partnerships, and resources into understanding and supporting the region’s continued evolution.

We are launching new content initiatives, including a video series exploring points of interest throughout the Indian and Banana Rivers from the perspective of the water. The same waterways that have shaped so much of my own connection to the area. Along the way, we hope to spotlight the businesses, people, history, beauty, and momentum that make Brevard County unlike anywhere else in Florida.

Because this place deserves attention.

Not only for where it has been, but for where it is going.

From Apollo to Artemis, Brevard County has helped inspire the world to look upward.

For me, it has always been a place to look outward too, toward adventure, possibility, nature, family, and now, extraordinary growth.

I am actually heading east again today. There is a Falcon 9 launch scheduled for 7:16 tonight. Experts are predicting a sonic boom shortly after liftoff as the booster returns to land instead of a drone ship at sea.

Maybe we will see something special tonight. A launch, a manatee, or perhaps a Roseate Spoonbill crossing the river at sunset.

That is the thing about Brevard County.

Every time, something new.

And as the Space Coast continues its remarkable evolution, &Barr is proud to once again look east and be part of the story.

July 16, 1969. Apollo 11 launches from Kennedy Space Center as spectators gather along Florida’s Space Coast to witness history. Captured aboard a 1969 Cobia Min-Yacht, the photo shows Pete Barr Jr. watching the launch through binoculars.