The U.S. Navy is set to move into a cluster of brand-new hangars at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston under a decade-long lease, a deal officials say should bring roughly 444 jobs to eastern North Carolina. State and local leaders are touting the agreement as a long-awaited way to turn the region’s long-standing military presence into direct defense work and higher-paying local paychecks.
The 10-year agreement was first reported by the Triangle Business Journal, and local partners put the job count at about 444, according to the NC Global TransPark EDR. Those materials say the new positions will span operations, maintenance and support tied to the maintenance, repair and overhaul work that will anchor the site.
What the lease covers
The TransPark complex will function as an extension of Fleet Readiness Center East and is expected to handle depot-level work on C/KC-130 transport aircraft and HH-60W rescue helicopters, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. The N.C. DOT notes the project includes roughly 700,000 square feet of hangar and back-shop space designed for heavy maintenance operations.
State money and local backing
The buildout leans on a mix of state appropriations and grant funding. Lawmakers in the General Assembly set aside about $350 million for hangars that will be leased to the Navy, and the Golden LEAF Foundation signed off on a $6 million grant to help pay for supporting infrastructure, according to state accounts and grant records. Business North Carolina details how the financing is structured and reports that the new jobs are projected to pay roughly $72,700 a year on average, which is well above the typical wage in the county.
Separate filings from Golden LEAF show that its grant will specifically cover water and sewer upgrades connected to the MRO campus, a basic but critical piece of making the site ready for long-term aircraft work.
Timeline and next steps
Design and program management for the MRO campus are being led by HDR, which reports that the Navy has entered an Intergovernmental Support Agreement to lease the state-built facilities and that the first C-130 aircraft are slated to arrive in September 2026. HDR notes grading and site preparation are already underway and that construction is on a tight schedule aimed at wrapping up in late 2026.
Officials expect a significant short-term construction surge followed by several hundred permanent operations jobs once the depot is fully active. Planning materials from the TransPark authority project thousands of temporary construction positions and additional indirect jobs across the region as suppliers and service providers ramp up. NC Global TransPark annual materials outline how the authority is pairing the project with workforce training and local partnerships so residents are ready to step into those roles.
Site work and early contracting are already in motion, and state and TransPark leaders say recurring lease payments from the Navy should help offset the state’s hefty upfront investment. From the TransPark board to the governor’s office, officials are framing the agreement as both a marquee jobs win for Kinston and a template for how state-built facilities can be leased to federal agencies to speed up mission-critical construction.
