Viera, Florida

Viera (pronounced /vjɛrə/) is an affluent, master-planned community located in the central coastal region of Brevard County, Florida. It is part of an unincorporated section adjacent to the Melbourne, Florida area. For census purposes, it is divided between the Census Designated Places of Viera East and Viera West. At the 2020 census, Viera East had a population of 11,687, while Viera West had a population of 16,688.

Geography

The Viera area borders along Interstate 95 starting at exit 195 and extending south of Florida road 404. It encompasses . About half of this has been set aside for conservation.

Neighborhoods

The community consists of 76 neighborhoods in two specific areas named Viera East (38) and Viera West (38). Included are five active adult communities/55+, Brennity at Melbourne, Bridgewater at Viera, Viera Manor and Heritage Isle, Grand Isle, along with a military retirement community, Indian River Colony Club.

Viera East

The neighborhood communities of Viera East are Auburn Lakes, Bayhill, Crane Creek, Cross Creek, Fawn Ridge, Grand Isle, Hammock Lakes, Hammock Trace, Heron's Landing, Lakes at Viera East, Mission Bay Apartments, Osprey, Six Mile Creek, The Greens at Viera, Capron Ridge, The Heritage, The Villages of Viera East, Viera East Golf Club, and Wingate Estates.

:Viera East Golf Club includes the following communities: those of Aberdeen, Addington, Ashton, Blackheath, Brightwood, Canterbury, Collingtree, Durban Park, Oaklefe, Parkstone, Stratford Place, and Woodhall.
:The villages of Viera East include the following communities: those of Bennington, Somerville, and Templeton.

Viera West

The neighborhood communities of Viera West are Adelaide, Arrivas Village, Artistry at Viera Apartments, Fairway Lakes at Duran, Heritage Isle, Highlands Viera West Apartments, Marisol at Viera Apartments, Modern Duran, Sonoma, Stadium Villas, Summer Lakes, The Brennity at Melbourne, Three Fountains at Viera Condominiums, Villages of North Solerno, Villages of South Solerno Wickham Lakes, and Wyndham at Duran.

:The North and South Villages of Solerno include Capron Trace, Charolais Estates, Chelford, Colfax Landing, Cortona, Daintree, Eason Landing, Gatwick Manor, Indigo Crossing, Levanto, Ravencliffe, Sunstone, and Terramore.

Addison Village

Addison Village, which is a part of Viera West, has the communities of Avalonia, Bridgewater at Viera, Kerrington, Stonecrest, Loren Cove, Reeling Park, The Rutherford Collection at Reeling Park, Seville, Valencia, Pangea, Strom Park, Trasona Cove East, Trasona Cove West, Sendero Cove, and Sierra Cove.

History

The land was developed by the Viera Company, a subsidiary of A. Duda and Sons, which owned the property formerly known as Cocoa Ranch. On August 4, 1989, they broke ground in this unincorporated area for the new community of Viera. It is derived from ''viera'' meaning 'faith' in Slovak, in honor of family patriarch Andrew Duda, who immigrated to the United States in 1912 from what became Slovakia. Starting in 1990, the Duda family started developing a new community with a mix of land uses, including a variety of housing types, offices, medical and industrial parks, shopping centers and recreational facilities. Todd Pokrywa was appointed President of The Viera Company effective September 1, 2018.

The Viera Development of Regional Impact (DRI) was approved in 1990 for about , making up Viera East. In 1992 construction began on what would become Viera East. In 1995, a expansion was approved by Brevard County as a Substantial Deviation to the original DRI. Application was made for Substantial Deviation #2 in 2006 and was approved to plan for the final expansion of the community. The expansion will include to be set aside as managed protected land, conservation areas, parks and open space.

The Viera Wilderness Park ( to be set aside during the expansion) will join with the River Lakes Conservation Area, which includes of Cocoa Ranch purchased by the St. Johns River Water Management District in 1999. Additional acres will be set aside within development areas to serve as conservation, parks and open space bringing the total actively managed protected land in the expansion area to over 50 percent of the total area.

Economy

Viera has more than 350 businesses, including financial services, health care, and retail.

Retail

The Avenue Viera, an open-air shopping center, opened in 2004. It contains over 100 shops/restaurants with 600,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space and a multiplex movie theater. There are several nationally known restaurant chains and department stores.

Industry

Viera has several organizations, government offices and non-profits, such as the Brevard Zoo, Brevard Public Schools, th
Brevard County Clerk of Courts
and Viera Hospital.

The first Park-N-Ride lot, in unincorporated Brevard County, is located there.

Government offices

The county's administration complex is located in Viera west of Interstate 95. The government branches and offices include the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners, County Manager, Planning and Development, Housing and Human Services, Public Works, Public Safety, Health Services and Clinic at Viera, Children's Medical Services, Utility Services, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Justice Center and the Brevard County School Board offices are also located within the administrative complex.

Community events

The developer of the property, The Viera Company, hosts a variety of events each year for both the community and for the Central Brevard area through the Viera Community Institute. Several main events include th
Light Up Viera Holiday Paradethe July 4th Great American Celebration
and th
Viera Nature Festival

National charities such as the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the March of Dimes Walk for Babies, the Devereux Foundation, St. Baldrick's Foundation and th
Scarecrow Stroll & Harvest Festival
have achieved success in the community.

Government

Federal representation

The Viera area is within Florida's 8th congressional district represented by Bill Posey.

State representation

Within the boundaries of Viera, the State House (District 32) is represented by Thad Altman; the State Senate (District 17) is represented by Debbie Mayfield.

County

The Viera community is located within an unincorporated portion of Brevard County, District 4. The County Commissioner for this district is Rob Feltner. The Brevard County School Board representative is Matt Susin (also District 4).

Community Development Districts and Master Community

Viera East Community Association (VECA) is a not-for-profit corporation formed in accordance with the Viera East Community Declaration and is the Master Association for Viera East. It is administered by a five-member Board of Directors and is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the hardscaping, landscaping and irrigation systems on most major roadways throughout Viera East, and in certain parks and recreational facilities. VECA is also responsible for overseeing the Modifications Review Committee (MRC).

The Viera East Community Development District is a local, special-purpose government entity authorized by Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes as amended, and created by ordinance of Brevard County as an alternative method of planning, acquiring, operating and maintaining community-wide improvements in planned communities.

Sports

Golf

Duran Golf Club, an 18-hole golf course, opened in 2005. It is located in Central Viera. It encompasses in the neighborhoods of Fairway Lakes at Viera, Modern Duran and Wyndham at Duran. The British West Indies-style clubhouse contains a restaurant. The Duran Development Center includes a complex with a practice range, target greens, pitching greens, a putting green, Footgolf and 9 hole par 3 course playable at night.

Viera East Golf Club opened in 1993 and is located in Viera East. It winds through the neighborhoods of Parkstone, Oakefe, Canterbury, Brightwood, Addington, Durban Park, Blackheath, Aberdeen, Woodhall, Collingtree, Stratford Place and Ashton.

Baseball

The USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) relocated to the Space Coast Stadium in 2017. The USSSA primarily focus on amateur sports involving youth baseball, and youth and adult softball.

In 2018, Viera was the host location of that year's installment of the Women's Baseball World Cup.

Parks

;Viera Regional Park
Constructed on donated by the Viera Company, Viera Regional Park has a community center (18,000 square feet), a fully equipped playground, three tot lots, of lakes, a walkway system, two lighted Little League baseball

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