MELBOURNE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded Melbourne Orlando International Airport a $2.5 million state grant to help fund maintenance, repair and overhaul apron—a move expected to bring 500 new jobs with average salaries of $75,000 to $85,000 each.
The grant, announced last week by way of the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, is intended to bolster the airport’s ability to accommodate commercial and military aircraft maintenance, fueling, and heavy repairs. The expansion is one piece of a larger $11 million package of infrastructure improvements that will also see retention ponds moved and new concrete poured along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Apollo and NASA boulevards.
“Today’s investments will support high demand regional and statewide needs, including talent development needs in communities that are supporting high-impact industries that align with many of Florida’s greatest pillars of investment,” DeSantis said in a statement. He highlighted Brevard County’s role in aerospace, aviation, military, and defense sectors, noting the grant is consistent with statewide priorities.
The funding is part of more than $8 million awarded in the latest round, including nearly $5 million to Palm Beach State College and $908,000 to Broward College for workforce training related to aviation. State officials estimate that the expansion of the airport apron will further establish the Space Coast as an anchor for maintenance operations, adding to investments like Dassault Falcon Jet’s $115 million service center just up the road.
Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly praised the grants and said it’s an investment in national security through workforce readiness. “These three investments underpin the foundations of workforce readiness for our aviators, cybersecurity, cryptography, secure communication and data,”Kelly said.
Airport officials expect the new jobs to be mechanics, technicians and support positions within the burgeoning MRO sector. Engineering and permitting are in process, although no schedule for construction has been set, and the total job creation depends on further private sector participation.
Since its creation in 2019, the Job Growth Grant Fund has awarded more than $305 million and helped create over 41,000 jobs and nearly 32,000 workforce training opportunities throughout Florida. This new award further enhances Florida’s drive to enhance its aviation sector as Brevard County continues to grow.