Posted on 05/17/2014 10:43:34 AM PDT by shove_it
BREVARD -- Brevard County will soon be the home of the largest economic development project in the country, officials said.
The Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast announced on May 8 that Northrop Grumman Corporation has selected Brevard County for an expansion project that could create 1,800 jobs, with an average annual salary of $100,000.
The project was secretly known as "Project Magellan" throughout the due diligence phase, as part of a confidentiality agreement between the company and the Space Coast, officials said.
Northrop Grumman plans to invest approximately $500 million in new capital investments at Melbourne International Airport, according to reports.
"This is a huge victory for families on the Space Coast," said Florida Gov. Rick Scott in a statement to the press. "We are excited that Northrop Grumman has decided to expand here in Florida, which could bring up to 1,800 new jobs to Brevard County. We've worked to grow jobs and opportunities for Florida families by cutting taxes, paying down debt and cutting government waste, and this announcement is a testament to our success in creating an opportunity economy."
Gov. Scott said he expects this deal to attract more businesses to the state of Florida.
Officials said that the expansion will feature two phases: Phase One is the construction of an approximately 220,000-square-foot building, as well as the addition of 300 jobs by the end of 2015; phase two will be the construction of an additional 500,000-square-foot facility and the creation 1,500 more jobs.
"Northrop Grumman's ultimate decision to choose the Space Coast for this competitive project would not have been possible but for the outstanding support of Gov. Scott, Enterprise Florida, Space Florida and the EDC team," said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the EDC. "Our success in bringing this project to Brevard demonstrates just how important economic development incentives are to winning a game changing project, such as this."
Officials said that the project has been in the works for more than year.
The new facility is expected to be operational by 2015.
Currently, the average wage for Brevard County is $44,159.
Anticipated capital investments for this project are expected to be nearly $500 million, with 557 new indirect jobs, in areas that have not yet been determined, expected to be created to support the development of the project.
The total gross domestic product impact is expected to be more that $290 million annually, and the total net new wage impact is expected to be more than $240 million annually, officials said.
The unemployment rate in Brevard County is currently listed at 7 percent, according to public record.
Northrop Grumman is a global security company that provides services to government and commercial customers worldwide.
WARNING - The linked article is loaded with popups
Central Florida ping
What are they going to build?
A spacecraft to map Venus.
Which I guess is a high Federal priority.
My question too. They managed to publish an entire article without mentioning that.
Thanks for the answer to the “what” that is missing from the story.
No, it’s in the story - Project Magellan.
I could be wrong but that’s the only thing that comes up when you google “Project Magellan”.
Here’s a better link to “Project Magellan Spacecraft” ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_(spacecraft)
The Orlando paper says 920 jobs. And points out that Northop is moving a major project from Florida to California, with jobs moving from New York to Florida. Looks like some execs are looking to snag huge bonuses for shuffling the deck with no real benefit to the company.
correction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_(spacecraft)
there is something wrong with the close paren at the end of the link
That's how you can tell this is 100 percent politics and zero economics. We will all be poorer because of this "development".
The use of “Project Magellan” as a code for building this facility had nothing to do with the Magellan radar mapping satellite.
Thank you. What is being built there then?
——$500 million-——
In our city, the Eastman Chemical co recently announced expansion plans of $1.2billion
Well, I’m astounded that you can’t believe everything you read in the newspaper, especially something coming from the Space Coast Economic Development Commission.
If or when it happens, hopefully some of my old KSC buddies will find employment. Since we (well NASA) currently are only doing outreach to all the muslims that advanced our technology.
Enhanced Polar System military communications satellites?
The Modular Space Vehicle?
The James Webb Space telescope?
The Lifting Entry/Atmospheric Flight extraterrestrial exploration vehicle?
The X-47b? Northrop/Grumman has a lot of aerospace projects.
Are you asking me or telling me?
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