Alenia to build 300,000sf center

JACKSONVILLE - Mayor John Peyton announced that Alenia North America Inc. will build a final assembly and delivery center for the C-27J Spartan cargo plane at Cecil Commerce Center.

Alenia plans to add 300 new jobs paying an average wage of $55,000 to the local market. The company also expects to invest approximately $104 million in new, private capital and construct a building greater than 300,000sf.

Multiple parties were involved in the deal. In addition to tax incentives approved by the state of Florida, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC) and Jacksonville City Council, Alenia received assistance from the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) in the form of no lease payments in years one through three and reduced lease payments in years four and five of the 23-year lease. Pending city council approval, Alenia will also lease 11,000sf in an existing office building owned by the JEDC.

The U.S. Army and Air Force selected the C-27J Spartan for the Joint Cargo Aircraft program in 2007. The C-27J has a maximum payload of more than 25,000 pounds and can be configured for any mission: troops, medical evacuation, airdrop or cargo.

Alenia North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alenia Aeronautica, the largest Italian aerospace company and a worldwide leader in commercial and military aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles and aerostructures.