Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has opened its newest service center in southeast Mesa. The $130 million facility marks the largest private investment to date at Mesa Gateway Airport.
Gulfstream says it has more than 3,200 aircraft operating around the world, and Mesa will be able to service up to 13 jets at one time.
“They're some of the most technically advanced products, maybe anywhere in the world,” said Derek Zimmerman, president of customer support. “But at the baseline, it's really a lot like owning a car or truck or any other vehicle, right? As time goes by, you need to have inspections, and you need to have maintenance and service provided.”
In November 2021, Gulfstream began offering service in existing hangar spaces at Mesa Gateway Airport. The new facility expands Gulfstream’s local footprint to 225,000 square feet. Zimmerman said the center was designed so it could grow.
“I think you can look at the roadmap that we followed at our home location in Savannah. We announced a facility like this in 2017. We opened it in 2019. Then, we built a phase two of that facility and just opened that earlier this year. That recipe, the footprint, the model that we followed for that facility is the exact same model that we've used here in Mesa, so if and when the time is right we already know exactly what future construction might look like at this location," Zimmerman said.
He said they’ve hired more than 250 people in Mesa and expect to add another 100 employees this year.
Like other companies, Gulfstream is eligible for state incentives though programs administered by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). They include a tax credit up to $9,000 for each job that meets the Maricopa County median wage, which was listed as $48,630 for 2025 on the ACA’s website.
According to the ACA, “The primary goal of the Quality Jobs Tax Credit is to encourage business investment and the creation of high-quality employment opportunities in the state.”
The Military Reuse Zone Program provides qualifying aviation and aerospace companies a transaction privilege tax (sales tax) exemption and allows them to have their property reclassified to a lower tax rate.
Mesa Gateway Airport is the site of the former Williams Air Force Base and covers 3,000 acres.
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