One of American Airlines' biggest aircraft suppliers — Brazilian aerospace giant Embraer — is expanding in North Texas with plans to develop a $70 million, 200,000-square-foot facility for commercial jets at Perot Field Alliance Airport in Fort Worth.
The decision for Embraer, the world's third-largest aircraft maker after Boeing and Airbus, to expand is tied to the region's reputation as an aviation hub with a talented workforce, executives told CoStar News. Embraer has been operating for decades at AllianceTexas, a 27,000-acre master-planned, mixed-use development. Conversations about building a new maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at AllianceTexas began about two years ago, the executives said.
"It's been a long-term relationship," James Schlette, vice president of development for Embraer, told CoStar News, adding it all began in 2002. Having the new maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in the southwest United States "is great and will complement what we have in Tennessee."
Beyond adding to its U.S. network of facilities, the development of this facility also marks a new chapter for Embraer, which has operated in the United States for over 46 years.
"With an investment of up to $70 million and the creation of 250 new skilled aviation jobs, this facility is a symbol of our long-term commitment to the U.S. market,” President and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto said in a statement.
The new Fort Worth service center is now part of Embraer's global network, including more than 80 authorized services centers and 13 Embraer-owned service centers. The new hub will share an address with the Perot Field airport.
Embraer has delivered over 9,000 aircraft to more than 100 countries in its more than five decades in business, the company said on its website.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held at Perot Field Alliance Airport this week. The new, state-of-the-art hangar devoted to maintenance, repair and overhaul is scheduled to open in 2027, officials said. In collaboration with the city of Fort Worth, Denton County and the state of Texas, Embraer began its operations within an existing hangar in June.
Ross Perot Jr., founder and chairman of Hillwood, the developer of AllianceTexas, said Embraer's investment in North Texas represents the kind of partnership that defines the region.
“By aligning industry, government, and education around innovation, we’re building the infrastructure and talent base that will sustain the region’s aviation leadership for decades to come," Perot said in a statement.
This is a groundbreaking for Embraer's second building at AllianceTexas, with the first one being dedicated to parts distribution. Upon its completion, Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, said the buildings will expand Embraer's presence in Fort Worth and the city's role in aviation.
In June, Gov. Greg Abbott declared Fort Worth to be the aviation and defense capital of Texas with the region's industry expanding beyond aircraft manufacturing to the production of missiles, drones and unmanned aerial systems. Embraer will join GE On Wing Support Inc. near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and AVX Aircraft Co.'s new headquarters at AllianceTexas.
The new development is also one of many contributing to NE Tarrant/Alliance's nation-leading construction pipeline, said Cody Gibbs, CoStar's director of market analytics for industrial space overseeing the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
"There is roughly 7.7 million square feet of industrial space currently underway in the Alliance area," Gibbs said, adding it surpasses all other areas of Texas and the United States. In all, Gibbs said he is tracking 20 ongoing projects in this part of North Texas, with the largest being Lennox's new 1.25 million-square-foot distribution center expected to be operational in early 2026.
About 45% of the construction pipeline is preleased by tenants, with Embraer only adding to that portion of the construction pipeline.