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Lockheed considers 300-employee expansion in Titusville

Dave Berman and Wayne T. Price
FLORIDA TODAY
Lockheed Martin Corp. is proposing expanding this site 1515 Chaffee Drive, Titusville.
  • Lockheed Martin is looking to make an %2480 million investment in expanded facilities in Titusville
  • The expansion could create up to 300 jobs with an average of %2489%2C000 a year
  • Lockheed is seeking more than %245.7 million in incentives for its proposed Titusville project
  • The potential expansion involved its Space Systems Company operations

Lockheed Martin Corp. is looking to make an $80 million investment in expanded facilities in Titusville, and could add up to 300 high-paying jobs.

The aerospace company, however, also has been considering other locations for the expansion, including Georgia, according to Greg Weiner, senior director of business development for the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast.

Lockheed Martin is seeking incentives from Brevard County and the North Brevard Economic Development Zone totaling more than $5.7 million to help pay for its proposed Titusville project.

The company is seeking approval of:

• Property tax abatements from Brevard County totaling $397,043 a year for 10 years, a total of about $3.97 million. Even with those tax breaks, the company would pay $550,797 a year in new taxes, or about $5.51 million during those 10 years.

Although the company said it hopes to create up to 300 jobs paying an average of $89,000 a year, its commitment for the property tax incentives is tied to creating 50 jobs by the end of 2017, including 31 in aerospace project and parts manufacturing and 19 in engineering services.

• A $1.735 million grant from the North Brevard Economic Development Zone to support infrastructure improvements at the proposed site at 1515 Chaffee Drive and "to offset the costs associated with the employment created."

The Brevard County Commission created the zone in 2011 to help spur economic development in northern Brevard County. The zone uses property tax money generated by commercial and industrial development in that part of the county to help do that.

Lockheed Martin spokesman Matt Kramer said the potential expansion involves "its Space Systems Company operations, which could include both new jobs and capital investment in our facilities."

"We are considering several potential locations for this expansion," Kramer said. "Working with the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, we have applied for economic development incentives associated with this potential expansion. These are performance-based incentives that would not take effect until we create new jobs and bring new investment to Brevard County."

Kramer added that nothing is concrete at this point with the project.

"We have not made any final determinations at this time," he said, "and the job growth and investment numbers cited in our application are all potential figures that are pending final business decisions and the approval of incentives."

6/26/2007--A Lockheed technician looks at the bottom of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo by: Michael R. Brown

Documents filed with the county did not specify exactly what Lockheed would manufacture at the Chaffee Drive site, which has been an Astrotech facility. Lockheed Martin in August completed an acquisition of the assets of the Astrotech Space Operations business of Astrotech Corp., including operations in Titusville and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Astrotech Space Operations works in satellite launch preparation services, from final testing and fueling to encapsulation and day-of launch operations.

Although Lockheed Martin "is not requesting confidentiality with regard to the company's name, certain elements of the company's plans are confidential," a report to Brevard County commissioners indicated.

In general terms, the company said: "This project will involve the modification of a facility to be used for the design and manufacture of a high-tech manufacturing product. This project would enhance Lockheed Martin's ability to design, build, integrate and test commercial and government aerospace components and systems more affordably, and with reduced the cycle time, due to a beneficial rate structure and co-location of skills and processes."

The application indicated that state incentives also may be part of the package.

It said: "The incentives offered by the state and local community will be used to build an approvable business case to potentially locate operations within Brevard County and reduce the cost of operations. Reduced cost will make this operation more cost-competitive, significantly increasing the likelihood of additional sales, additional job growth and additional investment in the project."

Lockheed said, if it moves forward on the project, it would open the facility in 2017.

It plans to spend $52 million on construction, and $28 million on machinery and equipment.

Weiner said the Economic Development Commission has been working with Lockheed for more than two years on this project.

This is the third major corporate expansion proposed in Titusville tied to incentives from the North Brevard Economic Development Zone.

• A high-tech aerospace company indicated to be Blue Origin is looking for $8 million in incentives from the North Brevard Economic Development Zone. The money would help it build a 330-employee facility at Exploration Park near the Kennedy Space Center. The company — being referred to as "Project Panther" — would make a capital investment of $205 million to $220 million. Its new jobs would pay an average of $89,000 a year.

•Last month, the zone's board unanimously approved and the Brevard County Commission voted 4-1 to approve $2.5 million in incentives for attracting a high-tech manufacturer to Titusville. Most of that money would be used to help pay construction costs. The unidentified company — being referred to as "Project Eagle" — hopes to open a 150-employee manufacturing facility at the county-owned Spaceport Commerce Park, near Space Coast Regional Airport in south Titusville. Those jobs would pay an average of $48,000 a year.

Weiner said the fact that these three companies are considering expanding in Titusville is evidence that the North Brevard Economic Development Zone is working.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 and dberman@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByDaveBerman and on Facebook at facebook.com/dave.berman.54.

What's ahead

The Lockheed Martin projected is expected to be discussed at these two meetings:

8:30 a.m. Friday: North Brevard Economic Development Zone special meeting at Heritage Hall Boulevard, next to Parrish Medical Center, 931 N. Washington Ave., Titusville

9 a.m. May 26: Brevard County Commission meeting at Brevard County Government Center, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera.

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