The Boeing Co. reached a 25-year lease agreement with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority on Dec. 17 to expand its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations site at Cecil Airport in West Jacksonville that could result in up to 400 jobs.
Under the agreement, JAA will build and lease facilities to Boeing on about 30 acres on the northeast side of Cecil Airport near Boeing’s existing facilities, according to a JAA news release.
The site eventually will house Boeing’s on-site operations and comprise nearly 270,000 square feet of hangar space and more than 100,000 square feet of office and support shop space. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2021 with operations expected to begin 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.
JAA CEO Mark VanLoh said in the release that since taking ownership from the Navy, “the Authority developed Cecil into one of the preeminent airports for aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul in the United States.”
After the meeting adjourned, board Chair Patrick Kilbane said the agreement was finalized late Dec. 14 because Boeing wanted it secured before the end of the year.
He projects a significant impact for the authority when the facility opens in 2014.
“This will double the annual revenue the JAA gets from Cecil Airport,” Kilbane said.
Boeing Cecil Field opened in 1999. Its 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.
