Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation organized to oversee the expenditure of 75 percent of all funds recovered by the Florida attorney general for economic damages to the state that resulted from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., is required to administer the distribution of the funds to be used for the recovery, diversification, and enhancement of the eight Northwest Florida counties disproportionately affected by the oil spill. Those counties include Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla.
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Announcements, News & Correspondence
Triumph Gulf Coast Greenlights Grants to Support 1,300 New High-Paying Jobs
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board met in Pensacola this week to approve five grant award agreements and advance two projects to grant award negotiations to move forward $70 million and 1,300 new high-wage jobs in Bay, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla and Walton counties.
The Triumph Gulf Coast staff continues regular work with grantees on the implementation of 63 active executed grants and an additional 16 closed projects totaling over $728 million in grants executed since 2018 across the eight Triumph eligible counties.
Bay County
The Triumph Board voted to approve a grant award agreement with the Northwest Florida International Airport (ECP) for up to $25,000,000 to recruit Project Spinner, a commercial jet aircraft engine MRO company, IAG Aero Group. The Triumph funds will be used by ECP to construct an MRO facility which will be leased to the company. In addition to the MRO facility, the company will construct a jet engine testing center at ECP and has purchased parts testing and distribution facility in Lynn Haven. Project Spinner has begun hiring at the Lynn Haven location and will create a minimum of 500 new, high- wage jobs across the three facilities. This project supports the growing Northwest Florida aviation and airspace sector.
The Triumph Board voted to advance to final grant award negotiations with the Bay County Board of County Commissioners for up to $3,750,000 to support the recruitment of Project Clear. The grant funds will be used by Bay County to improve the former Bay County incinerator building and property to house Project Clear, a commercial and residential glass and glazing manufacturer. The company plans to expand manufacturing operations to Bay County, leveraging the Port of Panama City for raw material imports and Bay County’s southeast US location to capitalize on operational and logistical efficiencies. The company will create at least 150 new jobs paying an average of 115% or more of Bay County’s average wage.
Okaloosa County
The Triumph Board voted to approve a grant award agreement with the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners for up to $16,800,000 to support the recruitment of Williams International, a leading aviation aerospace manufacturer, in partnership with Florida Commerce, Space Florida, and the University of West Florida’s (UWF) Industry Resilience & Diversification Fund (IRDF). The Triumph grant funds will be used to support site work activities to prepare an approximately 135 acre site Okaloosa’s Shoal River Ranch Gigasite. The company will invest over $1 billion to construct and equip facilities totaling an estimated 1,000,000 sq ft and create 336 new high-wage jobs paying over 115% of current average Okaloosa wages.
Santa Rosa County
The Triumph Board voted to approve a grant award agreement with the Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners for up to $2,483,094 to win the expansion of manufacturer Project Turbo. The grant funds will be used to acquire approximately 12.5 acres of prime industrial property off Highway 90 in Santa Rosa County to house two manufacturing centers, of approximately 80,000 and 150,000 square feet. The company will create at least 60 new high-wage jobs paying at least 115% of Santa Rosa’s average wage. The project will add capacity to the region’s manufacturing cluster, one of the targeted industries transforming Northwest Florida.
Wakulla County
The Board voted to approve a grant award agreement with the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners for up to $13,500,000 to purchase and develop a 20-acre industrial site within Opportunity Park to win the expansion of manufacturer Point Blank Enterprises. The proposed Triumph award will fund acquisition of the site and development of a 150,000 square foot building to be owned by the county and leased to the company.
The company will create at least 300 net new jobs paying at least 115 percent of the current prevailing Wakulla County wage. Point Blank Enterprises manufactures body armor for law enforcement and both body armor and equipment armor for the defense sector. Through a competitive project led by Florida’s Great Northwest (FGNW), and in partnership with Florida Commerce, UWF’s IRDF, and Duke Energy the company selected Wakulla County for this major expansion.
Walton County
The Triumph Board voted to approve the grant award agreement with the City of DeFuniak Springs for up to $4,229,000 to support industrial development at the City of DeFuniak Springs Airport, in partnership with Florida Commerce, three new hangars for aviation aerospace job creators, an access road and associated infrastructure will be constructed. The project will result in the creation of at least 100 new Florida Target Industry jobs at the airport paying an average of at least 115 percent of Walton’s average wage. The companies are yet to be identified but the project is expected to result in substantial employment growth in the fast-growing Northwest Florida aviation and aerospace sector.
All Triumph Counties
The Triumph Board voted to advance to final grant award negotiations with Florida’s Great Northwest for up to $4,777,000 to strategically market the Triumph region to high-wage job target industry job creators. The funds will be used to update the existing Northwest Florida FORWARD economic development strategy, develop a marketing plan from the strategy, and increase targeted business development marketing efforts for the eight-county region.
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, and presiding officers of the Legislature. The appointees to the Triumph Board are Jay Trumbull, Sr. (Chair), David Humphreys (Vice-Chair), Leslie Weiss (Treasurer), Bryan Corr, Sr. (Asst. Treasurer), David Bear, Collier Merrill and Charles Rigdon. All meetings of the Board are public.
STATUTORY WEBSITE NOTICE PURSUANT TO s. 288.8016, Florida Statutes (2017)
Please take notice that on June 13, 2025, at its regular meeting, the Board of Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., will take up for consideration and intends to approve the following proposals for award of funding and amendments to existing awards pursuant to s. 288.8017, Florida Statutes (2017):
Proposal #284
Applicant: Defuniak Springs Airport
Funding Request: Up to $4,229,000
Summary of Proposed Grant Award Agreement
Proposal #338
Applicant: Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District
Funding Request: Up to $25,000,000
Summary of Proposed Grant Award Agreement
Proposal #345
Applicant: Wakulla County, acting through its Board of County Commissioners
Funding Request: Up to $13,500,000
Summary of Proposed Grant Award Agreement
Proposal #350
Applicant: Santa Rosa County, acting through its Board of County Commissioners
Funding Request: Up to $2,483,094
Summary of Proposed Grant Award Agreement
Proposal #356
Applicant: Okaloosa County, acting through its Board of County Commissioners
Funding Request: Up to $16,800,000
Summary of Proposed Grant Award Agreement
Amendment to Existing Grant Award Agreement for Project #98
Applicant: Walton County Sheriff’s Office
Additional Funding Request: $0
Proposed Amendments: update completion deadline; update audit requirement language
Summary of Proposed Fourth Amendment to Grant Award Agreement
Amendment to Existing Grant Award Agreement for Project #216
Applicant: Northwest Florida State College
Additional Funding Request: $0
Proposed Amendments: update to budget and funding timeline; update to update audit requirement language; update performance metric
Summary of Proposed Second Amendment to Grant Award Agreement
Amendment to Existing Grant Award Agreement for Project #148
Applicant: Gulf County School District
Additional Funding Request: $0
Proposed Amendments: update to purpose; update to completion deadline; update to update audit requirement language
Summary of Proposed Second Amendment to Grant Award Agreement
Amendment to Existing Grant Award Agreement for Project #153
Applicant: Gulf County School District
Additional Funding Request: $0
Proposed Amendments: update to purpose; update to completion deadline; update to update audit requirement language
Summary of Proposed Third Amendment to Grant Award Agreement
Amendment to Existing Grant Award Agreement for Project #320
Applicant: Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation, Inc. a/k/a Visit Florida
Additional Funding Request: $15,000,000
Proposed Amendments: update to budget; update to project cost update to performance metric; update to completion deadline; update to audit requirement language
Summary of Proposed First Amendment to Grant Award Agreement
Any person interested in being heard on these matters may attend and address the Board prior to a vote on approval of any award. Information regarding the time and place for the June 13, 2025, Board Meeting may be found by clicking here.
Any questions or inquiries regarding this notice or the award may be directed to: Cori Henderson, Program Administrator at [email protected]