BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — For those living in Palm Bay there’s a common question that has been asked for years, but continues to be tough to find answers to: What to do with an area called The Compound?

The area has seen issues over the past several decades, from ATV accidents, brush fires including a five-acre one Wednesday night, and criminal activity, just to name a few.

For 30 years, the more than 2,700-acre area has sat untouched since the developer went bankrupt.

Of late, two tragedies have put the large property back in the spotlight.

Two teens were shot and killed in the Compound on Christmas Day in 2022, and police say a man shot and killed his girlfriend and disposed of her burned body there just three weeks ago.

Thursday night Palm Bay City Council had a workshop to discuss the giant piece of land with residents.

While The Compound covers 2,784 acres, the city owns just 235 of them, according to the city. Officials say that the challenge they face is trying to determine what the city can actually do.

City leaders say they hope they can springboard development with by getting a project started. Residents say that the one thing a majority of people do agree on is that the area needs to be developed.

Palm Bay resident Betty Pegeus has lived just outside the Compound area for seven years, and says that for a place with nothing on or in it, people find plenty to do.

“The teenagers, the young people, they stop to go out there during the three-day weekends,” Pegues said. “They have the trucks to take out, the four wheelers out there and grown ups and take their kids out there.”

She says that unwanted treasures and items left to be forgotten can be found on the property — things like shotgun casings, an abandoned couch, and an old mattress.

Pegeus said she hopes the property is developed so families can soon move in.

“A neighborhood,” she said with a smile. “A family friendly neighborhood. Playground for kids where they can be safe.”

Of the 2,784 acres in The Compound, more than 70% of the parcels are zoned for single-family residential. The property also has more than 2,700 unique owners of land or property.

“Lots of ideas,” Palm Bay mayor Rob Medina said after Thursday's meeting. “There is such a list of next steps, even special assessments was part of that solution, but we have to start with ourselves with what the city owns and what we can provide our community with those.”

One by one city residents presented ideas.

They suggested everything from a single family home development or a theme park, to an area to launch rockets and a possible downtown city center.

Some even said that the property should be left alone.

“I definitely don’t want anymore development out there,” Ryan Foster who spoke at the workshop said. “Everywhere you look around Palm Bay it’s just traffic and the infrastructure is struggling to do with what it has right now.”

While there were lots of ideas, there are also lots of challenges, Medina said.

“Whether its economic strategic plans, whether it’s getting private public partnerships those issues are on the table now,” he said.