Harris Corporation
Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $7 billion of annual revenue. It is the largest private-sector employer in Brevard County, Florida (approximately 6,000). The company was the parent of Intersil (Harris Semiconductor). Most of the wireless start-ups in South Brevard County were founded and are staffed by former Harris Corporation engineers and technicians. The company's Digital Telephone Systems (DTS) division was sold to Teltronics.
Lone Star College System
On May 1, 2009, Lone Star College System has purchased the core of the Hewlett Packard (part of Compaq's former headquarters) North Campus on State Highway 249 at Louetta Road in Northwest Harris County. According to Chancellor Richard Carpenter, the facility will serve multiple purposes, including a new university center for north Harris County, an instructional satellite campus, a Corporate College conference and training facility, and System administration and support space. The purchase gives LSCS of additional space in eight major buildings, as well as parking garages and other support infrastructure, making this one of the largest such acquisitions in higher education history.
On January 22, 2013, the north Harris County campus was put on lockdown for a shooting where at least three people were shot. All were taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds. The shooting occurred outside the library and learning lab. A Harris County deputy sheriff said, "We found that the incident was not an active shooter incident, but was an altercation between two individuals."