Where Hopkins Avenue breaks away from U.S. Highway 1 in south Titusville‚ a window of opportunity appears.

A swath several blocks wide emerges along the Indian River Lagoon shore that starts near Titusville High School and continues three miles until it hits NASA Parkway‚ which leads John F. Kennedy Space Center.

For Titusville‚ the 816 acres along U.S. 1 represent a chance to stimulate business development‚ preserve the beautiful Florida scenery and enhance recreational opportunities.

The city engaged RMPK Group of Sarasota‚ Fla.‚ in 2005 to accomplish that for coming generations through a master plan.

The idea rose out of concern for the Indian River Lagoon‚ an inland waterway separated from the Atlantic Ocean only by Merritt Island.

Some residents worried high-rise condominium development could spoil the view‚ and they petitioned the city for prudent development‚ says Courtney Harris‚ Titusville’s planning director.

“So it was really a citizen initiative‚” she says of the effort‚ which took eight months and cost $150‚000. “A lot of the desire that came out of the workshops was that they wanted to preserve the area.”

Implementing the plan will take years and necessarily involve divergent viewpoints to reach a consensus on good growth for the city of nearly 45‚000.

A year after the plan’s birth‚ two initiatives are already a reality.

On the northern end of the corridor‚ the Miracle City Mall – slated for redevelopment as a 31-acre residential and commercial center – will be reborn through a public-private partnership.

Sunrise Properties and Investments‚ owners of the 1969-vintage mall‚ will re-create the property with upper-floor townhomes and ground-level stores.

Titusville is creating a community redevelopment area at the mall site to leverage state assistance and new tax revenue generated by the project. Those funds will build a stormwater retention system that will benefit much of the city.

RMPK also recommends mixed-use redevelopment of the Searstown Mall and similar plans for an undeveloped property at the corridor’s southern terminus.

Along the way‚ Titusville is acquiring property for recreation trails as part of a waterfront master plan‚ and the city is encouraging neighborhoods to develop their own preservation plans: The homeownership rate in the corridor is just 38 percent‚ compared to more than 60 percent for Titusville as a whole.

Reva Harris‚ who manages Venture 1 Properties in Titusville‚ believes Titusville’s master plan can build great value for the city.

“I think it’s important for the community as a whole to see that there is a full-fledged plan‚” she says. “I don’t think everything on that plan could be possible‚ but it’s a good guide.”

And for a city that serves as the front door to America’s space exploration program‚ providing curb appeal and preserving character are paramount goals.

“As a city‚ what we were really hoping to do is capture the community’s vision‚” Harris says. “And I think we really accomplished that.”