Hopes for a historic deal between the City of Tallahassee and North American Aerospace Industries – a company that was supposed to have an economic impact of $616 million – were dashed within months of a ceremonial announcement at City Hall.
The failure of the launch, which only became known now after numerous requests for an update from the Tallahassee Democrat, represents another stumbling block for the airport on its path to becoming a dynamic economic engine for Florida’s capital.
Airport officials said a potential deal fell through in late 2022 or early 2023 when the company could not secure financing for a land lease.
The company’s recruitment, which was named “Project Alpha” during confidential negotiations with the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, was announced by city commissioners and Mayor John Dailey, who called it “phenomenal” during the company’s coming-out party at a June 2022 city commission meeting.
“This is not only a turning point for the city and the district, it is a turning point for the region,” he said from the podium.
North American Aerospace, based in Kinston, North Carolina, specializes in dismantling and recycling aircraft. The project was considered the Amazon of the airport because it was expected to create 985 permanent jobs and 1,443 temporary construction jobs – just as the world’s largest e-commerce platform was planning to build its robotic fulfillment center and bring 1,000 new jobs to Tallahassee (Amazon actually doubled its planned number of jobs).
The arrival of North American Aerospace Industries would have created the largest single company job creation in the airport’s history and would have expanded the sustainable recycling of aircraft equipment, including interiors, seats and other materials.
Why the deal with North American Aerospace fell through
For weeks, the Tallahassee Democrat has been demanding an update on the project from the OEV and the City of Tallahassee. When asked via text message on Friday, City Manager Reese Goad said, “David (Pollard) is the best in this regard.”
In an interview Tuesday, Pollard said North American Aerospace has been unable to secure the financing needed to lease a minimum 57-acre site and build three buildings at the airport, which would represent a $110 million capital investment and $30 million in additional revenue for the airport.
“We worked with them and tried to help them with this, but they couldn’t secure the funding,” Pollard said. “So we never made an agreement.”
If the company can demonstrate its financial viability and continue with the project, “we stand ready if they decide to re-engage,” Pollard said.
The economic challenges facing the airport, which include the loss of JetBlue as an airline, come as the city has created a second position of deputy aviation director and hired Ben Pingree, a longtime local government official, to lead airport operations, including finance, administration, real estate, business development and capital projects.
After a year as Leon County’s deputy county administrator, Pingree will begin his new position at the airport on September 7.
Pingree was well acquainted with Project Alpha during his time leading Blueprint and OEV, as it was one of 14 projects being negotiated confidentially. Negotiations with the company had been ongoing for a year, Pingree told the Democrat in a July 2022 article.
In announcing the potential deal, Pollard noted that negotiations with OEV and Space Florida would continue to “put the whole thing together.”
“They’re working behind the scenes to work out agreements,” he said at the time. “This is an international company working on many different fronts to get this done.”
A series of economic setbacks for Tallahassee Airport, although the international handling facility shows promise
Although passenger traffic at the airport is increasing, the ability to attract and complete large contracts from the private sector is rather variable.
In March, the Democrat reported that a deal with Burrell Aviation in Colorado had gone awry.
The Colorado-based company failed to meet the terms of its lease for approximately 19 acres of the airport. It had planned to invest at least $20 million to build a facility and generate more than $8 million in new revenue for the airport over the life of the lease.
The deal is also expected to create around 290 permanent jobs and over 250 temporary jobs in the construction industry.
Last month, JetBlue Airways gave the city little warning that it was cutting its only service to Tallahassee after just seven months due to a lack of demand. The Tallahassee-Fort Lauderdale flight will end at the end of October and the decision was part of a company-wide decision to cut several routes across the country.
At the same time, the city’s biggest economic opportunity may be just emerging. Tallahassee’s $28 million International Processing Facility is expected to unleash a wave of economic opportunity and provide international access for travelers and the private sector.
Pollard said he does not see the problems with North American Aerospace Industries, Burrell Aviation and JetBlue as a failure in the airport’s economic development in the region. Rather, he said, it shows that the airport is looking for opportunities.
“We will continue to work on our strategic goals and priorities. As we move forward, opportunities will come our way and we will take advantage of them,” Pollard said. “We certainly have a duty to do due diligence behind the scenes, ask questions and make sure that anyone who proposes a project has the means to implement it.”
Contact economic development reporter TaMaryn Waters at [email protected] and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
