Governor Josh Stein announced the United States Navy agreed to a 10 year lease of maintenance hangars for its Fleet Readiness Center East at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Lenoir County.
Jeremy Stroud, the Director for the NC Global TransPark said the project covers 65 acres, 17 of which are for hangars to accommodate future Navy aircraft.
The TransPark was known as a hub for the aerospace industry in Eastern North Carolina, but nothing on this scale has been seen before.
The United States Navy agreed to the 10 year lease, planning to use the hangars to repair and maintain aircraft.
“What you see behind us is a 65 acre industrial site.” Jeremy Stroud said, “We’re building 17 acres of hangers for Fleet Readiness Center East”.
Stroud managed the TransPark for more than a year, but said the plans started before his time in Kinston.
In 2023, North Carolina lawmakers approved a $350 Million loan to make accommodations for Fleet Readiness Center East.
Stroud said,
The Fleet Readiness Center East received a depot source of repair for the C130-J aircraft so that’s a new workload for them and this facility will accommodate that workload
When the hangers open, Governor Stein said the Navy will enter the $15 Million contract with Global TransPark, adding jobs to the region.
I believe the last numbers they gave me was 350 construction employees on site. Upon completion when FRC takes control you are looking at 440 jobs. These jobs are in the 90,000 dollar range.
Stroud expects the first facility to be open in July, and the first Navy aircraft is expected to land in September.