The ST Aerospace lease became official Tuesday when Mayor Ashton Hayward signed the lease agreement with the Singapore-based aircraft maintenance company.

The 30-year lease brings VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering, Inc. to the Pensacola International Airport, where the company will establish a maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility.

The aim is to create at least 300 jobs.

“By working with VT MAE, we will be able to create good, high-paying jobs and cement Pensacola’s position as a true contender for aviation and aerospace industry investment,” Hayward said.

The announcement concludes the nearly two-year campaign by Hayward and economic development partners, including Escambia County and the Greater Pensacola Chamber, to attract VT MAE, a subsidiary of Singapore-based ST Engineering, to Pensacola.

Both at the Pensacola City Council meeting earlier in the day and at the news conference for the event itself, the teamwork required to bring the deal to completion was praised by Hayward and all involved. Read more about those efforts here.

Retired U.S. Army Gen. John G. Coburn, chairman and CEO of VT Systems, signed the lease Tuesday with kind words for the community and the effort it took to bring the project to fruition.

“Pensacola presented an opportunity for us to add to our capacity,” Coburn said. “Its strategic location, good infrastructure, and a dynamic and supportive leadership team, are reasons for our decision to establish our presence in Pensacola. We look forward to creating greater value for our customers, and hope to bring many value-added jobs to the people of Pensacola and Escambia County.”

The 90-page contract and lease agreement calls for VT Mobile to create a minimum of 300 jobs that will pay between $30,000 and $58,000 annually.

That wage level is of note given that the total personal income per capita for the Pensacola Metro Area stands at $39,041 for 2014.

The deal includes the construction of two large hangars, two concrete aprons and two parking lots on property located within Pensacola International Airport.

Funding for the project, which puts Pensacola squarely on the Gulf Coast aerospace map, comes from five sources:

--  $11.6 million from a Florida Department of Transportation grant.

-- $8 million from Escambia County and the City of Pensacola.

-- $7.24 million from ST Aerospace.

-- $7 million from the state-funded Oil Spill Recovery Act, administered by the University of West Florida’s Office of Economic Development and Engagement.

-- $3.5 million from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program.

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