A $76M Shipbuilding Facility Could Come to the Port of Pensacola. Here's Where It Stands.

Triumph Gulf Coast gave initial approval in January to Project Maeve, bringing shipbuilder Birdon America to the city-owned port. A final grant agreement is still pending.

Pensacola could land one of the largest industrial projects in its history. The question is whether the pieces come together.

On January 28, Triumph Gulf Coast, the nonprofit managing Deepwater Horizon settlement funds for eight Panhandle counties, voted to enter term sheet negotiations with the City of Pensacola for up to $76 million to bring Birdon America Inc. to the Port of Pensacola.

Project Maeve would establish the company's Southeastern headquarters and a Tier 2 advanced ship manufacturing facility capable of producing complex Navy ship modules, submarine components and complete surface vessels up to 400 feet long.

The projection: 2,000 jobs, 1,437 averaging $68,000 annually and 563 averaging $112,000. City officials say it would be the largest job-creation project in Pensacola's history.

Triumph's $76 million funds construction of two facilities at the port. The city owns the buildings and leases them to Birdon. Total project cost is $275 million, with the remainder from company investment and other grants including a pending $14 million Florida Commerce request.

The project is designed to anchor a broader maritime and defense cluster with workforce pipeline partnerships at UWF's WAVE Center, Pensacola State College and IHMC. A term sheet is not a final grant. The Triumph board must still approve a grant agreement before any money moves.