PENSACOLA, Fla.—Governor Ron DeSantis announced the allocation of over $12 million for workforce development and infrastructure improvements in Northwest Florida through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund (JGGF) and the Defense Infrastructure Grant (DIG). The funds are designated for Pensacola State College, the city of DeFuniak Springs, Santa Rosa County, and Jackson County to support various sectors including aviation, aerospace, military defense, and workforce housing.
“Today’s awards will help bring high demand, high wage jobs and businesses to Northwest Florida,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “These strategic investments will benefit Escambia, Walton, Santa Rosa and Jackson counties and provide new opportunities for families from across the Panhandle.”
Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly commented on the initiative: “Governor DeSantis’ focus on catalytic infrastructure and workforce investments, especially in sectors such as manufacturing, aerospace and aviation, and military and defense, will continue to bring job creators and job seekers to Northwest Florida. I’m especially grateful for the Governor’s support of the community-driven visions in each of these projects.”
The recipients of the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund include:
- **Pensacola State College** ($4.41 million): Establishment of a new Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics program at Pensacola Airport involving construction of a new hangar along with training equipment.
- **DeFuniak Springs** ($3.05 million): Construction of two 6,400-square-foot hangars, one 10,000-square-foot hangar, a taxiway, an access road, and associated utilities aimed at attracting innovative employers in aerospace and defense sectors like Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). This project is expected to create 500 jobs with an estimated fiscal impact exceeding $12.3 million.
- **Jackson County** ($4.68 million): Development of a 1.3-mile two-lane road connecting a workforce housing area with an industrial zone projected to create at least 400 jobs with an estimated impact of $12.5 million.
Additionally funded through past initiatives are more than $23 million in strategic investments within Jackson County.
The Defense Infrastructure Grant recipient is:
- **Santa Rosa County Whiting Aviation Park – Security Fence Project** ($500k): Creation of a secure double-entry gate system facilitating safe aircraft movement between NAS Whiting Aviation Park's base and maintenance area while enhancing security operations.
The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund aims to promote public infrastructure development alongside workforce training across the state based on proposals reviewed by FloridaCommerce.
For further details on these programs:
- [Job Growth Grant Fund](#)
- [Military Community Programs](#)