Boeing will expand its presence at Cecil Airport on Jacksonville’s west side after breaking ground on a new 150,000-square-foot Component Operations facility to service US Navy and Air Force aircraft.
The facility, which will inspect and repair aircraft parts, will be erected near Boeing’s 370,000-square-foot maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, under construction for a year and a half at the former US Navy base.
Boeing is already recruiting for several maintenance and support positions and expects to create more than 300 new positions as new contracts and aircraft derivatives arrive. The newest facility is due to be completed early next year.
“Boeing’s continued growth at Cecil is a testament to what an important economic engine the airport has become for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida,” said Jacksonville Aviation Authority CEO Mark Vanloh. “As Boeing begins construction on its second campus at Cecil, it’s also a testament to Northeast Florida’s workforce. Our region provides businesses with the best skilled and high-tech workers in the state.”
“Boeing’s commitment to supporting U.S. and allied warplanes is unwavering, and these facilities will enhance our capacity to provide world-class products and services to the men and women in uniform,” added Boeing Global Technical Operations Vice President Kevin Mitchell. “From the smallest parts to the largest aircraft, our team is ready to deliver what our customers need.”
The US Navy decommissioned Naval Air Station Cecil Field in 1999, signing the site over to the city for development as a business park and commercial airport.
Boeing already has a large footprint at the airport and space facility. It transforms F/A-18 Super Hornets into demonstration aircraft for the US Navy’s Blue Angel squadron and converts retired Air Force F-16 aircraft for combat training and autonomous air targets. And the 23-year-old maintenance operation there employs about 350 people on Department of Defense contracts, with a center that performs structural repairs for F/A-18 AF and EA-18G flight control surfaces.
Boeing signed a 25-year lease in late 2021 with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority for development at the airport complex at 103rd Street, the first project at the 370,000-square-foot complex where US Navy F/A-18 jets will be overhauled. The $156 million maintenance, repair and overhaul facility will also handle P8 and C40 support aircraft. It is set to open later this year at the northeast end of the former naval base’s sprawling runways.
The Component Operations facility, which has just started construction, will be leased by Scannell Properties for 27 years, with an option to extend up to 50 years in total.
With the completion of these two facilities, Boeing will have more than 546,868 square meters of facilities, approximately 400 people eventually working on the 30-acre site.
