NASA Exploration Park Land Lease: 40 and 130 Acres at KSC, Proposals Due November 6
NASA Kennedy Space Center is taking proposals to ground lease two parcels of vacant land in Exploration Park, along Space Commerce Way, under an Announcement for Proposals posted on SAM.gov September 4, 2026. The Exploration Park land lease notice, AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026, covers SCW Parcel 3, about 40 acres, and SCW Parcel 4, about 130 acres. NASA posted its answers to proposer questions on October 20. Proposals are due by 5:00 PM Eastern on November 6, 2026.
Exploration Park Land Lease: The Two Parcels
SCW Parcel 3 is about 40 acres, with 39.66 acres listed as available, and access would come off Space Commerce Way. SCW Parcel 4 is about 130 acres, 126.5 available, with access that could come off State Road 3. Either parcel can be leased whole or in part, and NASA says each can hold several users running separate operations at the same time. The Q&A adds that the two parcels may go under one lease or separate leases and that each can be subdivided. The land is offered as is, where is, with no warranties.
Rent, Term and Escalation
The base term is 20 years with two 5-year options. NASA set the 2026 base rent range from an appraisal: $26,593.38 to $30,905.82 an acre a year on Parcel 3 and $17,648.33 to $20,510.23 an acre a year on Parcel 4. Bids outside the range are allowed. Base rent escalates 4 percent a year. On top of it the tenant pays an annual support amount that NASA expects to be 17 percent of base rent, also escalating 4 percent a year. A lease longer than 10 years gets a base rent re-appraisal every 10 years, forward looking only, by an appraiser NASA hires and pays, on the unimproved value of the ground.
At the published range, a lease of all 39.66 acres of Parcel 3 works out to base rent of $1,054,693.45 to $1,225,724.82 in the first year, before the support amount. All 126.5 acres of Parcel 4 works out to $2,232,513.75 to $2,594,544.09.
What the October 20 Q&A Says About the Ground
Before a lease is signed, the selected proposer pays NASA under a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement to run environmental due diligence and prepare a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, which goes into the lease. On Parcel 3, four active solid waste management units and potential release locations sit immediately adjacent, and the land use control area of SWMU #036 overlaps the parcel's northwest corner. NASA has detected PFAS in groundwater and surface water immediately north of Parcel 3 above the EPA tap water screening level; no sampling has been done inside the parcel, and interim land use controls apply on its north side. On Parcel 4, PFAS has been detected to the south along Jerome Road, with interim controls on the south side, and a closed unit of 11 former citrus grove sheds inside the parcel received a No Further Action letter from FDEP on August 20, 2019. NASA operates a permitted borrow pit next to Parcel 4.
Who Can Propose and What NASA Will Accept
Uses must be space or aerospace related and fit the KSC Master Plan. NASA will not consider residential uses, a transfer of title, or a use it judges could hurt a NASA mission. Proposers must be U.S. commercial providers or U.S. persons under ITAR and must disclose any foreign owner. The tenant pays for site preparation, including tree removal, grading and stormwater, builds its own facilities, parking and access, and extends utilities from the KSC connection point. A connection to a primary road may need a traffic study at the tenant's expense. Changes to the Model Lease had to be requested during the question period; NASA says it will not negotiate the lease terms after selection.
How Proposals Are Scored
NASA ranks proposals on five factors, in this order: the annual base rent offered, financial capability, technical approach, experience, and economic impact to KSC and the local economy. Proposals are limited to 30 pages. Evaluations begin the week of November 9, 2026 and, per the Q&A, typically take one to three months. NASA is not required to make a selection.
If you are an aerospace user comparing a KSC ground lease against fee-simple industrial land in Brevard County, call 321-514-0876 or use the contact page.
Sources
SAM.gov notice AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026, NASA Kennedy Space Center, posted September 4, 2026, modified October 20, 2026, read October 21, 2026.
Announcement for Proposals, AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026 (PDF), NASA KSC, September 4, 2026: parcels, term, base rent ranges, eligibility, proposal requirements and evaluation factors.
Questions and NASA Answers (PDF), NASA KSC, posted October 20, 2026: environmental conditions, subdivision, re-appraisal and schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do proposals for the Exploration Park land lease go?
By email to hq-realestate@mail.nasa.gov as one searchable PDF, Times New Roman 12 point, 30 pages at most, with every page referencing AFP-KSC-ExParkParcels3and4-2026, no later than 5:00 PM Eastern on November 6, 2026. The NASA contacts on the notice are Hope Marini and Christina Williams.
What stormwater permits already exist around the parcels?
NASA's Q&A lists St. Johns River Water Management District permits 16508, 67717, 23969, 24159, 128795 and 143199 for stormwater systems adjacent to the parcels, and permit 16858 for the borrow pit next to Parcel 4. Any new stormwater work on the parcels is the tenant's and must comply with Section 438 of the Energy Independence and Security Act.
Written by Cassandra Hartford, founder and CEO of Reach Commercial Real Estate. She has worked in Brevard County commercial real estate for 17 years, representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants across Florida's Space Coast.
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