The Boeing Co. aerospace company intends to open an office at Lake Gray Plaza in Southwest Jacksonville, but hasn’t announced what functions it will serve.
The city is reviewing a permit application for a 22,677-square-foot office build-out for Boeing at 6225 Lake Gray Blvd. At that size, it could accommodate at least 120 to 200 employees.
No contractor is listed for the estimated $400,000 build-out. Codes-ABC Inc. is handling code compliance. The Meek Companies of Jacksonville manages the property.
Craig Meek of The Meek Companies said CBRE First Vice President Bruce Jackson represented the landlord in the transaction.
A group of investors owns Lake Gray Plaza through Montreal-based Lake Gray Plaza LLC.
Meek said Boeing will lease 25,000 square feet of space, which will bring the 100,000-square-foot business complex to full occupancy.
He said Feb. 4 the project is out to bid to contractors and he expects the permit to be issued within a few weeks.
Boeing issued a statement Feb 4:
“The Boeing Company is always evaluating strategies to best serve the needs of our customers and accommodate new business,” it said.
“In the Jacksonville area, specifically Cecil Airport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Boeing supports the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy with maintenance, repair and overhaul work as well as comprehensive training for various aircraft and products so they meet mission requirements.”
NAS Jacksonville and Cecil Airport are in West Jacksonville.
Boeing said more than 2,600 employees work at multiple locations in Florida, supporting defense and commercial customers in space, aircraft modifications and sustainment, and commercial aviation services.
It said the largest concentrations are at Kennedy Space Center and in Jacksonville, Fort Walton Beach and Miami.
Boeing said that in Jacksonville it developed and supports the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Training Facility at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
It also said teams at Boeing Cecil Field support the F/A-18 A-D Hornet, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
On Dec. 17, Boeing and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority announced an agreement for a new hangar and office space at Cecil Airport that eventually will replace the existing Boeing Cecil Field site footprint.
According to the news release, Boeing entered into a 25-year lease agreement with the aviation authority to increase its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations at its Cecil Field site at Cecil Airport.
Under the agreement, the authority will construct facilities on about 30 acres on the northeast side of Cecil Airport, near Boeing’s existing maintenance, repair and overhaul operations site, for lease to the company.
The construction eventually will house Boeing’s on-site operations and include nearly 270,000 square feet of hangar space and more than 100,000 square feet of office and support shop space, according to the release.
Construction work will begin in the fall with a planned start date of operations in January 2024.
“This investment in facility improvements supports our ability to deliver on current and future defense services work at the Cecil Field site and aligns with Boeing’s infrastructure optimization efforts,” said Warren Helm, Boeing Cecil Field site leader, in the release.
“We collaborate continuously with our U.S. defense customers to ensure our modification capabilities can support their readiness objectives in strategic locations around the globe. This new agreement builds upon that commitment.”
Boeing Cecil Field is one of the company’s long-standing facilities, the company said.
The release said that since opening in 1999, the site’s employees have maintained, modified and upgraded nearly 1,000 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, including the F/A-18 A-D Hornet, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.
It is home to a Flight Control Repair Center that provides structural repairs to F/A-18 A-F and EA-18G flight control surfaces, and where the Boeing team converts F/A-18 Super Hornets into flight demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel squadron, it said.
Boeing’s support for the U.S. Air Force QF-16 program, which converts retired F-16s into the next generation of combat training and testing for autonomous aerial targets, also is based at Boeing Cecil Field.
Chicago-based Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services.
It said it supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries.
