KSC's Central Campus Complex

The KSC Administrative Headquarters opened in 1965. Photo source: NASA.

Florida Today reports that Kennedy Space Center's historic Administrative Headquarters and other facilities will be demolished, and replaced by a new "Central Campus Complex" in the Industrial Area.

The landmark NASA Headquarters Building, the Central Instrumentation Facility, several administrative offices and scientific laboratories — all of which played key roles in early U.S. space exploration — ultimately will be torn down while a new pedestrian-friendly hub of green buildings is raised in six phases.

“You’re talking about facilities that are 50 years old and getting older,” said KSC spokesman Allard Beutel. “This is looking ahead to the next 50 years.”

The idea is to consolidate work in a central hub of modern, energy-efficient buildings that provide safer environments for engineers, managers and administrative personnel. The footprint of NASA facilities in the area will be reduced to 450,000 square feet from 900,000 square feet, returning 35 percent of the land to green open space.

According to the original synopsis posted on a federal web site in September 2010, the buildings included in this project are:

1. Headquarters Building (Bldg # M6-0399, approx 430,000 SF)
2. Central Instrumentation Facility (Bldg # M6-0342, approx 133,000 SF)
3. Base Operations Building (Bldg # M6-0339, approx 20,000 SF)
4. Electromagnetic Lab (Bldg # M6-0336, approx 9,500 SF)
5. Training Auditorium (Bldg # M7-0351, approx 9,500 SF)
6. Occupational Health Facility (Bldg # M6-0495, approx 18,000 SF)
7. Environmental Health Facility (Bldg # L7-1557, approx. 11,000 SF)
8. Industrial Area Support Building (Bldg # M6-0493, approx. 15,500 SF)
9. Technical Records Center (Bldg # M6-0489, approx. 14,100 SF).
10. Shared Services (approx. 60,000 SF) within the Industrial Area outside of the listed buildings.