The History of Viera
In the early 1980s, residential neighborhoods began edging toward the center of Brevard County. The Duda family realized their beloved Cocoa Ranch was next in line to accommodate the county’s coming growth. Determined to preserve the beauty and environmental integrity of the property, which encompassed 38,000 acres and had served the family’s business and recreational interests for over 60 years, the decision was made to master plan a town on the Ranch, rather than sell individual tracts of property.
To guide the vision for a brand new community, an extensive nationwide study of successful new town communities was commissioned and published by the Urban Land Institute. The planning team used the findings of the study to create the concept and master plan for a new town. The new town would have a balanced mix of land uses including a broad range of housing types, offices, medical and industrial parks, shopping centers and an array of recreational uses. The community would also be distinguished by aesthetic design guidelines, wildlife and wetland preservation efforts, community recreational centers and privately funded infrastructure programs. The community was named Viera, which means “faith” in the Duda family’s ancestral Slovak language.
In 1989, The Viera Company was formed, and in 1990, the first Development of Regional Impact (DRI) was approved for about 3,000 acres, making up Viera East. Construction began on the first residential neighborhoods within the DRI in 1992. In 1995, the 6,000-acre central Viera expansion was approved by Brevard County. The St. Johns River Water Management District purchased over 14,000 acres bordering the St. Johns River in 1999 and now manages the property as part of the River Lakes Conservation Area.
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