FORT WORTH, Texas — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal.
Defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp. appears to be expanding in Fort Worth.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) signed a lease for 136,165 square feet of industrial space at Fort West Commerce Center at 3101 NW Centre Drive in Northwest Fort Worth, according to Dallas-based real estate firm Holt Lunsford Commercial.
The newly built, three-building industrial park along Interstate 820 includes 531,601 square feet of space on about 32 acres.
The company said the new space will primarily be used as a storage facility.
The Maryland-based company has been pumping out aircraft from its Fort Worth factory about seven miles away at 1 Lockheed Blvd. since World War II.
The plant specializes in the production of the F-35 fighter aircraft and employs about 18,000 workers, according to a report last year from the U.S. Department of Energy.
A defense appropriations bill approved by the U.S. House in September included funding for production of 86 new F-35 aircraft out of the Fort Worth plant, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The F-35 program supports more than 49,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Fort Worth area and generates $9.4 billion in annual economic impact, the Star-Telegram reported.
Todd Burnette and John Davidson of JLL represented Lockheed Martin in the Fort West lease. Matt Carthey and George Jennings of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, Creation Equity.