Cirrus to Build an Innovation Center

The City of Duluth, Minnesota, lost 270 aircraft maintenance and other jobs when AAR Corporation, a leading global provider of MRO services for commercial and military aircraft, closed its operations at Duluth International Airport (DLH) in 2020. The closure is attributed to a sharp drop in revenue associated with the pandemic-induced decline in air travel.

Cirrus Aircraft, also based at DLH, took immediate advantage of the empty facility in 2020 by renting the facility temporarily to store unfinished aircraft and parts while the pandemic disrupted supply chains. That plan morphed into an agreement in August 2022 for Cirrus to purchase the entire facility and assume the 60-year ground lease on its 39-acre property. The price Cirrus paid for the building was $1, stipulating that Cirrus is to create at least 80 new jobs and retain the rest of its entire 1,300-employee workforce in Duluth. Cirrus is the largest manufacturing employer in Duluth, and additional tax and financial incentives were included in the deal, saving the Duluth Economic Development Authority about $600,000 in annual expenses.

Cirrus announced in October that it would make significant investments to transform the massive 189,000 SF facility into a state-of-the-art Innovation Center where Cirrus engineers, advanced designers, researchers, and flight test personnel will work in flexible workspaces with numerous amenities that will promote an optimal collaborative environment to develop the next generations of general aviation aircraft.