The Compound
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2022) |
The Compound, also known as "Street Patterns" or "The Grid", is an area in southwestern Palm Bay, Florida, similar to Flagler Estates. It is a largely undeveloped area of some 200 miles (320 km) of paved roadway in various states of disrepair. General Development Corporation began development of the area in the late 1980s, but went bankrupt in 1991 leading to the developments cancellation.
Geography
The Compound is located at 27°56′08″N 80°42′11″W / 27.93556°N 80.70306°W. The area of The Compound is 12.2 square miles (32 km2). To the west is the St. Johns River and Three Forks Marsh[1]. To the southeast is Deer Run. To the east is Bayside Lakes, a planned community built in 1999, and to the north is Palm Bay Regional Park. The average elevation is 10 feet (3.0 m) above sea level.
Crime
The Compound has been used for various criminal activities over the near three decades since the area was abandoned, such as drugs dealing, illegal dumping, unsafe discharging of weapons, homicide and street racing to name a few.
Between December 2022 and October 2023, the area has seen a series of disturbing rise in homicides, resulting in the discovery of five deceased individuals. The first two victims, 14-year-old Jeremiah Brown and a unidentified 16-year-old, were found shot 33 times on December 25th, 2022. Their murders remain unsolved. [1]
Subsequently, in February 2023, 44-year-old Nancy Howery was reported missing from Indian Harbor Beach. Her dismembered body was found in March 2023 within the same compound, leading to the arrest of Daniel Stearns in connection with her murder.[2]
In September 2023, Nicholas Mitchell's body was discovered in the compound. Robert Paul Lanning III and Rene Lemos were apprehended after a high-speed chase in Mitchell's car, confessing to his murder. They admitted to luring Mitchell from a Circle K store to the area, where they are accused of murdering him and stealing his vehicle.[3]
On October 7th, 2023, authorities were summoned to the area yet again and uncovered sun-bleached, skeletal remains. The Brevard County medical examiner's office is actively working on identifying the remains and determining the cause of death. If confirmed as a homicide, the discovery would mark the fifth homicide victim found within the compound in less than a year.[4]
Paintball and Airsoft
A section of The Compound was also home to the first city-run Paintball park known as Hurricane Paintball Park. Discharge of a paintball gun is illegal within the city of Palm Bay, except at a municipal paintball field. In response to complaints of illegal paintball games within the compound, the Palm Bay City Council ordered the Palm Bay Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a city paintball park as a safe, legal and affordable place to play paintball within the city.
Initially constructed with city funds, materials donated by local businesses and volunteer labor provided by local paintball players, the park has suffered several closures due to management issues, allegations of wrongdoing by contractors and budget issues. One of which was "Invincible Paintball," a commercial paintball field operator that runs additional locations in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce.
In December 2009, Fillion Paintball was in charge of park operations.
Currently the field is known as "Palm Bay Paintball Park" and is owned and operated by "Nightmare Inc." which expanded the field to include Airsoft gameplay on specific days of the week.[2]
Off-Road sports
The Compound is also used by off-road sports enthusiasts. There are sections of the area that have dirt trails that have been formed from repeated use. The sand tends to be sugar sand and very soft in spots, making it challenging at times. Riding dirt bikes and ATVs off road here is illegal and would be considered trespassing. The police are cracking down on off-road use after several events resulting in the death of riders, as of January 2021. The northern edge of the property is particularly appealing to dirt bikers and ATV riders because there are some large man-made hills there, but this is private property owned by Bombardier Industries. According the Palm Bay Police it is "Unlawful to be out at the compound trespassing on other peoples property".
Paramotoring
Initially used as a means of surveillance by law enforcement, the Palm Bay Police Department began paramotoring in the vicinity of the compound. Para sport enthusiasts since, have used The Compound, due to its large open spaces, contiguous uninhabited areas and skyline free from obstructions for both recreational purposes and training. As a safe minimal risk operating location for paramotoring, the paramotoring community has contributed much to the preservation of The Compound, by working with law-enforcement, reporting law and traffic violations while providing a general custodianship of the properties. The paramotoring community further enhances public relations, by organizing property maintenance such as mowing, occasional roadway maintenance and trash removal. The air space immediately overhead The Compound and some of the adjacent agricultural and swamp areas, is arguably the least congested airspace in the entire state of Florida. It is therefore an ideal safe haven for the activity, which brings a significant financial revenue to the greater municipal areas of Palm Bay.
Spaceport Rocketry Association
With permission from the city of Palm Bay and the FAA, Spaceport Rocketry Association (SRA) conducts monthly low, mid, and high power rocket launches in the compound. SRA is affiliated with both the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) and the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA).
Remote control airplane operations
RC airplane enthusiasts frequently use the stretch of Sapodilla Rd SW by Wishbone Ave SW.
Tough Mudder
The Compound has played host to two annual Tough Mudder events in 2015, and 2016 respectively. Both events generated large amounts of revenue for both Palm Bay and surrounding areas that hosted competitors. As of 2017, it unknown whether the site will host future Tough Mudder events.
Future use
The St. Johns Heritage Parkway will pass through this portion of Palm Bay as a part of the future connection to its southern most terminal ending at Interstate 95 just north of Micco Rd., construction of this section of the parkway is tentatively set to begin sometime in the 2020s.
References
- ^ "Three Forks Conservation Area". SJRWMD. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ https://palmbaypaintballpark.com/