FYI Miami: September 11, 2025

BUILDING SATELLITES: County commissioners without discussion approved $193,000 in incentive funding for AST SpaceMobile to set up a 30,000-square-foot plant in Homestead to employ 60 workers to build satellites for its space-based cellular broadband network. Work on the plant is to begin in October. The incentives are based on an average salary of $89,583. Capital investment in the leased plant is to be $10.8 million. The Midland, TX, company designs, manufactures and operates satellites and plans to ramp up its manufacture, growing from the present two per month to a target of six a month. AST launches satellites from Cape Canaveral as its “space technology aims to provide uninterrupted coverage across the globe” in its AST SpaceMobile Network, the company says. AST looks to create the “only space-based cellular broadband network.” 

SALMON GROWTH ON MENU: Fund aid will feed a Homestead aquaculture complex, leading to growth to 25,000 metric tons of fresh-water bluehouse salmon a year. Miami-Dade commissioners approved $250 million in bond debt to continue the expansion of Atlantic Sapphire USA. The bonds were approved in May 2024, but the Miami-Dade County Industrial Development Authority didn’t issue the bonds in time to meet Internal Revenue Service code, so the process restarted. Bond proceeds will build wastewater treatment and disposal facilities to aid the fish farming. In addition to the financing, Atlantic Sapphire plans to provide $100 million capital to complete the second phase of its expansion. The current phase has a ceiling of 9,500 tons of annual capacity. Atlantic Sapphire USA is based on 20 acres at 22275 SW 272nd St., where it employs 180 people and expects to add about 100 more as it completes its expansion. 

AIRPORT BIDS CRASH: Five bids requested in January to consolidate Miami International Airport’s Operations Center with its Emergency Operations Center will all be thrown out and bidding will start over because in answering a question about the work and technical specifications, aviation officials didn’t explain a unit of measurement in the specification documents. That lack of explanation resulted in “various different interpretations by the bidders and [led] to significant price variances in the price schedules submitted,” a memo sent this week to the county’s Airport Committee says. “It is the intent of the Aviation Department to review the original solicitation and update the scope of work and all related technical specifications / drawings, after which time the project will be re-advertised with the incorporated changes.” Then, the bidders can all start over. 

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