President Trump says Northeast Ohio has been chosen as the home of a new facility to manufacture, repair and maintain key parts of U.S. submarines, but details remain scarce.
He made the announcement at a campaign rally on Monday in Youngstown at the Covelli Centre.
"The Department of War has officially selected the new home of the U.S. Submarine Component Repair Center, a big deal that everybody wanted and it's going to be right here in Ohio, in Cleveland," Trump told the crowd.
Trump said the facility will be 46,000 square feet, but there has been no independent confirmation on where the center will be located, when it will be built or how many jobs it could create.
The city of Cleveland said it has not received specific details on the plan but welcomed the Navy's interest in development opportunities.
The announcement in Youngstown followed a presidential memorandum issued Aug. 13 regarding the rebuilding of the U.S. Navy and the nation's shipbuilding base.
The memo cited a "lack of capacity and competition among shipbuilders" that has resulted in backlogs for orders at the existing six major Navy shipbuilding programs.
The wide-ranging memo addressed several steps to increase the nation's capacity to build and repair ships and submarines, as well as train an American workforce.
The portion related to the submarine component center states that within 90 days of the memo, a plan will be submitted to the president to "receive new and refurbish old components and parts as required by the submarine repair industrial base. The plan shall identify geographically centralized locations proximate to major road, rail, and river transportation networks and include such resourcing requirements as necessary to maintain at least one 'ship set' of spare equipment for the Los Angeles, Virginia, Seawolf, Ohio and Columbia classes.”
Cleveland-based Bartlett Maritime has long pushed for a submarine repair facility in Northeast Ohio, but had pitched facilities in Lorain and Lordstown. Reached Tuesday, the company could not confirm if it's obtained the Navy's approval.
“Bartlett Maritime is encouraged by the President's announcement. We have long held that a Component Repair Center will add desperately needed capacity to America's submarine industrial base, and that Northeast Ohio is exactly the right place to build and operate a CRC," the company said in a statement.
Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley similarly said he's reached out to the Navy for more details, saying the city has been part of such discussions for many years.
Ideastream Public Media has reached out to the Navy and White House for additional details about the announcement.
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted said the facility will strengthen national security and create jobs. He said he urged the Trump administration to select Cleveland as the location.
