Bell Textron needs a new $630M factory with 500 jobs. Fort Worth wants it built here.
Bell Textron Inc. is considering far north Fort Worth for a new manufacturing facility that would build parts for the next generation of military helicopters. The plant off Interstate 35W would employ more than 500 workers.
The aerospace company, which is based in Fort Worth, is also considering undisclosed sites in two other states. Bell is expected to announce soon which site it will choose, based in part on local and state incentives.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted to offer the company an incentives package worth more than $46 million if it chooses the Fort Worth property. The roughly 34 acre site is at 15100 N. Beach St., which is in the city but across the Denton County line.
Bell was awarded an estimated $7.1 billion contract in 2022 to build V-280 Valor aircraft for the U.S. Army. The V-280 will replace the Army’s Black Hawks, the model that has been used since the 1970s. In early 2023, Bell broke ground on a $20 million facility in Grand Prairie, where the V-280 Valor will be tested.
The aircraft acts as a helicopter during take off and landing, but can reconfigure itself in the air to fly faster than traditional helicopters. Ultimately, the defense contract is worth potentially $70 billion over many years.
If Bell chooses the Fort Worth site for its manufacturing facility, the company will need to make a $632 million capital investment in the property to receive incentives from the city. The company would also have to create a minimum of 520 full-time jobs with minimum average annual salaries of $85,000 at the site by the end of 2039.
City incentives would total over $47.5 million for Bell over the next two decades. That includes a 10-year tax abatement, a $1 million grant from the city’s economic development initiatives fund, and up to 10 annual grants.
The city projects the facility could generate $16 million in tax revenue for Fort Worth over the next 20 years.
Fort Worth competes with sites in other states
Bell disclosed that it is considering the sites in two other states in its application for state economic incentives. In that application, Bell indicated it planned to apply for a $2.6 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, a state-level economic development program.
The company applied for incentives through Texas’ Jobs, Education, Technology and Innovation Act program, which provides companies with an avenue to work with the governor’s office and school districts to reduce part of their school property taxes. Bell could receive as many as 10 annual tax incentives grants from the state.
The site Bell is considering was previously home to a Stanley Black & Decker facility. The tool maker shut down operations there in 2023. The site is valued at over $47.5 million, according to Denton County appraisal data. It is part of AllianceTexas, a 27,000 acre development that has become a hub for distribution and manufacturing facilities. The property is not owned by Alliance’s developer, Hillwood.
The site’s existing building is over 447,000 square feet; if Bell selects it, the company plans to expand the building by 5,400 square feet.
V-280 Valor is the Army’s new workhorse
The UH-60 Black Hawk has been the Army’s workhorse for more than 40 years and has seen action in every major Army operation including Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. The Army’s current fleet includes more than 2,000 Black Hawks.
The next generation of workhorse, the V-280 Valor will incorporate technology, efficiencies and maneuverability that couldn’t have been imagined decades ago.
Bell was founded by Lawrence Dale Bell in 1935, as Bell Aircraft Corp. in Buffalo, New York. He moved the company to Fort Worth in 1951.
Today, Bell is a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., a multi-industry company that also includes Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes, as well as other vehicles and products.
With annual revenue of over $3.1 billion, Bell made up up 23% of Textron’s revenue in 2023. Bell employs about 4,000 people in the Metroplex.
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 7:20 PM.
