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.