Pensacola seeks $86 million for major shipbuilding complex at city port
By T.S. Strickland
November 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM CST
The City of Pensacola is asking Triumph Gulf Coast for $86 million to help build a major shipbuilding complex at the Port of Pensacola — a proposal city officials say could reshape both the downtown waterfront and the region’s economy for decades.
In a pre-application filed with Triumph, the city outlines a plan called Project Maeve: a $250 million, advanced ship‑manufacturing complex that would add roughly 400,000 square feet of new industrial space to the municipal port. The facilities would support about 2,000 jobs over five years and produce components for Navy ships and submarines, along with complete surface vessels.
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The company behind the proposal would provide $150 million in private investment, and the city expects to seek an additional $14 million from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund. Pensacola would retain ownership of the structures and lease them long‑term to the firm.
A high‑wage, high‑impact proposal
The wage structure is central to the city’s pitch. Production roles would average about $68,000 a year, and engineering and support positions would average about $112,000 — bringing the project’s overall average to roughly $80,000. At a press conference Tuesday, Mayor D.C. Reeves emphasized both the volume and the quality of the jobs.
He said the plan calls for “1,437 jobs at 68,000 annually, and then 563 jobs at an average of 112,000 annually,” noting the project would likely become the second‑largest employer within city limits behind Sacred Heart Health System.
RELATED: Pensacola seeks $15 million for inland port as Reeves pitches plan to ease waterfront space squeeze
For Reeves, that wage structure speaks directly to concerns he encountered while campaigning.
“Our young people want to stay here. They want to come home,” he said. “But the challenge that’s in front of all of us as a community — the city, the county, small businesses, everybody — is how do we continue to have those high‑paying jobs where someone can be the breadwinner of their family… It’s not just about jobs, period. It’s about those quality, high‑paying jobs.”
The city's 'grand strategy' for the port
The Maeve proposal comes as Pensacola is redefining the role of its 50‑acre deep‑water port. That footprint is unusually small for an industrial port, particularly one located directly at the foot of a rapidly redeveloping downtown. The city has argued that such limited acreage must be reserved for high‑value, marine‑dependent uses rather than lower‑impact storage or non‑specialized industrial tenants.
Reeves said Tuesday the project reflects a multi‑year effort to match the port’s constrained size with selective recruitment.
“I feel like this is a testament to a lot of concerted effort that we’ve put in in the last several years,” he said, adding that “it’s about being strategic on a small port about those highest and best uses.” He called the Maeve proposal “an absolute game changer.”
That strategy, however, is not without tension. Committing a significant share of the waterfront to large‑scale industrial activity could limit opportunities for residential development, public access and mixed‑use projects that some downtown advocates want to see expanded. Industrial operations may also increase truck traffic, noise and light impacts in the surrounding area.
Supporters counter that the port is one of the few sites in the region capable of supporting deep‑water maritime manufacturing — and one of the only sites where workforce, research institutions and supply‑chain partners are all in close proximity.
A growing cluster
The city has spent recent years cultivating a cluster of watercraft, composites and advanced manufacturing operations at the port. Triumph previously awarded $8.5 million to bring American Magic’s headquarters to Pensacola and another $3.3 million to support the University of West Florida’s Watercraft and Vessel Engineering (WAVE) center.
Reeves said the composite‑manufacturing methods used by American Magic overlap with those described in the Maeve proposal, and that these synergies could accelerate workforce development.
“One nice part actually about the American Magic project as dovetailed with this project is… using composites specifically translates to so many different things,” he said, noting the same manufacturing techniques can be used to build everything from racing vessels to aerospace components.
He added that American Magic has already hired graduates from UWF and Pensacola State College. Scaling from a 200‑job investment to a 2,000‑job operation would significantly increase demand for engineering and technical talent.
Workforce challenges
The Gulf Coast shipbuilding industry is already in a period of rapid expansion, with new Navy contracts driving hiring at yards in Mobile and Pascagoula. That has raised questions about whether Pensacola could staff another major maritime manufacturing project.
Reeves acknowledged the concern but said the work described in Project Maeve is not a traditional keel‑up shipyard comparable to Gulf Coast giants.
“I would not assume that the ship building by generic definition… will be the same apples to apples activity,” he said.
He also pointed to the region’s experience with ST Engineering’s aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) campus at Pensacola International Airport — another major public‑private venture supported by Triumph. He said the city and its partners were slow to build an adequate training pipeline for those jobs, even as millions of dollars were invested in new hangars.
“I feel like building the infrastructure of MRO employees was five or seven years behind where it probably should have been,” Reeves said. “With a project like this, we should be just as mindful… to fulfill these jobs and not just get excited about the jobs and then lag behind.”
He added: “We need to be at the ready from day one… to make sure that our kids and our grandkids can have opportunity at this place.”
Inland port connection
Project Maeve is one of two port‑related applications the city has submitted to Triumph this year. The other would help build an “inland port” on Beggs Lane, which would serve as a logistics and storage hub and free up more waterfront acreage.
Some residents have questioned whether the downtown port has space to sustain both existing tenants and a new 2,000‑job manufacturing complex. Reeves said the inland port is not a prerequisite for Maeve, but the two could complement each other.
“We don’t have to have the inland project finished before we start this,” he said. “This one could go with an inland port. This one could go without an inland port.”
He framed the inland project as a way to move low‑value storage off the waterfront: “I’d rather be creating 2000 jobs on square footage on the port than just for storage.”
How the prospect emerged
Reeves said the company behind the proposal initially reached out to local stakeholders.
“They’ve reached out to us, this community,” he said, while declining to list intermediaries.
He also underscored the city’s decision to maintain its own economic development office in addition to FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance.
“The economic development priorities inside the city limits are never going to be exactly matched with what it should be in county,” he said, noting the city’s distinct geographic constraints.
What happens next
A Triumph pre‑application is not a funding decision. It allows staff to determine whether a concept appears eligible under state law. If the board invites a full application, the city would need to secure matching funds, negotiate terms and bring any agreements to the Pensacola City Council.
According to the filing, construction could begin immediately if funded and would take about 30 months to complete. Hiring would ramp up at about 50 jobs per month once operations begin.
Reeves cautioned that the city must respect the evaluation process but said officials are optimistic.
“We certainly don’t want to get ahead of a Triumph decision,” he said. “But we’re excited about it.”
In a pre-application filed with Triumph, the city outlines a plan called Project Maeve: a $250 million, advanced ship‑manufacturing complex that would add roughly 400,000 square feet of new industrial space to the municipal port. The facilities would support about 2,000 jobs over five years and produce components for Navy ships and submarines, along with complete surface vessels.
Support Local Stories. Donate Here
The company behind the proposal would provide $150 million in private investment, and the city expects to seek an additional $14 million from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund. Pensacola would retain ownership of the structures and lease them long‑term to the firm.
A high‑wage, high‑impact proposal
The wage structure is central to the city’s pitch. Production roles would average about $68,000 a year, and engineering and support positions would average about $112,000 — bringing the project’s overall average to roughly $80,000. At a press conference Tuesday, Mayor D.C. Reeves emphasized both the volume and the quality of the jobs.
He said the plan calls for “1,437 jobs at 68,000 annually, and then 563 jobs at an average of 112,000 annually,” noting the project would likely become the second‑largest employer within city limits behind Sacred Heart Health System.
RELATED: Pensacola seeks $15 million for inland port as Reeves pitches plan to ease waterfront space squeeze
For Reeves, that wage structure speaks directly to concerns he encountered while campaigning.
“Our young people want to stay here. They want to come home,” he said. “But the challenge that’s in front of all of us as a community — the city, the county, small businesses, everybody — is how do we continue to have those high‑paying jobs where someone can be the breadwinner of their family… It’s not just about jobs, period. It’s about those quality, high‑paying jobs.”
The city's 'grand strategy' for the port
The Maeve proposal comes as Pensacola is redefining the role of its 50‑acre deep‑water port. That footprint is unusually small for an industrial port, particularly one located directly at the foot of a rapidly redeveloping downtown. The city has argued that such limited acreage must be reserved for high‑value, marine‑dependent uses rather than lower‑impact storage or non‑specialized industrial tenants.
Reeves said Tuesday the project reflects a multi‑year effort to match the port’s constrained size with selective recruitment.
“I feel like this is a testament to a lot of concerted effort that we’ve put in in the last several years,” he said, adding that “it’s about being strategic on a small port about those highest and best uses.” He called the Maeve proposal “an absolute game changer.”
That strategy, however, is not without tension. Committing a significant share of the waterfront to large‑scale industrial activity could limit opportunities for residential development, public access and mixed‑use projects that some downtown advocates want to see expanded. Industrial operations may also increase truck traffic, noise and light impacts in the surrounding area.
Supporters counter that the port is one of the few sites in the region capable of supporting deep‑water maritime manufacturing — and one of the only sites where workforce, research institutions and supply‑chain partners are all in close proximity.
A growing cluster
The city has spent recent years cultivating a cluster of watercraft, composites and advanced manufacturing operations at the port. Triumph previously awarded $8.5 million to bring American Magic’s headquarters to Pensacola and another $3.3 million to support the University of West Florida’s Watercraft and Vessel Engineering (WAVE) center.
Reeves said the composite‑manufacturing methods used by American Magic overlap with those described in the Maeve proposal, and that these synergies could accelerate workforce development.
“One nice part actually about the American Magic project as dovetailed with this project is… using composites specifically translates to so many different things,” he said, noting the same manufacturing techniques can be used to build everything from racing vessels to aerospace components.
He added that American Magic has already hired graduates from UWF and Pensacola State College. Scaling from a 200‑job investment to a 2,000‑job operation would significantly increase demand for engineering and technical talent.
Workforce challenges
The Gulf Coast shipbuilding industry is already in a period of rapid expansion, with new Navy contracts driving hiring at yards in Mobile and Pascagoula. That has raised questions about whether Pensacola could staff another major maritime manufacturing project.
Reeves acknowledged the concern but said the work described in Project Maeve is not a traditional keel‑up shipyard comparable to Gulf Coast giants.
“I would not assume that the ship building by generic definition… will be the same apples to apples activity,” he said.
He also pointed to the region’s experience with ST Engineering’s aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) campus at Pensacola International Airport — another major public‑private venture supported by Triumph. He said the city and its partners were slow to build an adequate training pipeline for those jobs, even as millions of dollars were invested in new hangars.
“I feel like building the infrastructure of MRO employees was five or seven years behind where it probably should have been,” Reeves said. “With a project like this, we should be just as mindful… to fulfill these jobs and not just get excited about the jobs and then lag behind.”
He added: “We need to be at the ready from day one… to make sure that our kids and our grandkids can have opportunity at this place.”
Inland port connection
Project Maeve is one of two port‑related applications the city has submitted to Triumph this year. The other would help build an “inland port” on Beggs Lane, which would serve as a logistics and storage hub and free up more waterfront acreage.
Some residents have questioned whether the downtown port has space to sustain both existing tenants and a new 2,000‑job manufacturing complex. Reeves said the inland port is not a prerequisite for Maeve, but the two could complement each other.
“We don’t have to have the inland project finished before we start this,” he said. “This one could go with an inland port. This one could go without an inland port.”
He framed the inland project as a way to move low‑value storage off the waterfront: “I’d rather be creating 2000 jobs on square footage on the port than just for storage.”
How the prospect emerged
Reeves said the company behind the proposal initially reached out to local stakeholders.
“They’ve reached out to us, this community,” he said, while declining to list intermediaries.
He also underscored the city’s decision to maintain its own economic development office in addition to FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance.
“The economic development priorities inside the city limits are never going to be exactly matched with what it should be in county,” he said, noting the city’s distinct geographic constraints.
What happens next
A Triumph pre‑application is not a funding decision. It allows staff to determine whether a concept appears eligible under state law. If the board invites a full application, the city would need to secure matching funds, negotiate terms and bring any agreements to the Pensacola City Council.
According to the filing, construction could begin immediately if funded and would take about 30 months to complete. Hiring would ramp up at about 50 jobs per month once operations begin.
Reeves cautioned that the city must respect the evaluation process but said officials are optimistic.
“We certainly don’t want to get ahead of a Triumph decision,” he said. “But we’re excited about it.”