The Melbourne (Fla.) Airport Authority is expected to approve Embraer Executive Aircraft’s plans for a Legacy 450/500 assembly facility during a special meeting tomorrow morning. Embraer has proposed constructing a $76 million, 250,000-sq-ft building that would be situated between its business jet delivery center and Phenom 100/300 assembly facility on the north side of Melbourne International Airport.
The agenda for tomorrow’s special airport authority meeting includes details on Embraer’s more than $48 million incentive package to assemble midsize Legacys in Florida. This includes $36.1 million from the Florida DOT’s capital improvement program, $8 million from a “quick closing fund” from Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity and $1 million each from the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Brevard County and Melbourne Airport Authority.
Earlier this month, Embraer confirmed plans to begin assembling its new midsize Legacy 450 and 500 at the Melbourne campus by 2016, adding that it planned to break ground “soon” on the major new plant expansion and expected to add 600 jobs when it is fully up and running. Embraer already assembles Phenom 100s and 300s at the Florida facility and will officially open its new U.S. engineering center there in less than two weeks.