September 25, 2023 – Santa Rosa County BOCC along with the Santa Rosa Economic Development Office (SREDO) was awarded a $6.4 million grant from the Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot (DCIP) administered by the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OCC). The grant, formally accepted today by the county commission, will be used to help construct the taxiway/apron from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field to the Whiting Aviation Park. The taxiway will lead to an aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in support of NAS Whiting Field, reducing aviation downtime and eliminating the need to move military aircraft over civilian roadways.
The 239-acre Whiting Aviation Park will be the first to allow private-sector companies access to a military airfield. Once complete, the industrial park tenants will be able to use the 6000-foot runway at NAS Whiting Field. That will mean faster and more efficient shipping of parts and aircraft anywhere in the world, right from Santa Rosa County. The first permanent occupant, Leonardo Helicopters, will move in (with 50 new, high-paying jobs) once Phase I of the park is complete.
“This is a significant development and recognition for Santa Rosa County,” says Santa Rosa County District 5 Commissioner Colten Wright. “With the Whiting Aviation Park, Santa Rosa County is the first to offer an industrial site co-located with a military airfield. We are so proud of all of the teams involved in making this grant a reality. It is another giant leap toward completing the park and securing the county’s position as a hub for the aviation sector.”
The $6.4 million grant award was part of a competitive selection process for a $100 million Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program for projects approved by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment. Each proposed project had to benefit a local installation and support our service members, their families, and the States and communities that are always there to support the mission.
Shannon Ogletree, Executive Director of the Santa Rosa Economic Development Office (SREDO) said that the county also received an additional $1.5 million for the project from Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity and is awaiting confirmation on another potential grant award.
“The funding Whiting Aviation Park has attracted from federal, state, and local sources is a direct reflection of its importance to our county’s job-creation efforts, our regional economy, and to our national defense,” Ogletree said. “We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received to bring it into being.”
