An expansion planned for Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems in Danville keeps getting bigger.

The British aerospace company had been planning a $9.34 million, 66-job expansion at its Boyle County Industrial Park location, but that grew to a $14.88 million, 94-job expansion. Now, it’s grown further, to a $22.78 million, 139-job project.

Meggitt was approved for up to $3.45 million in state tax incentives over 15 years by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in April. The expansion project has not been activated yet, according to KEDFA.

According to the KEDFA tax-incentive approval for Meggitt’s original expansion plan in 2017, “the company added three new furnaces to the carbon brake manufacturing plant, as well as added a maintenance and repair operation to its distribution building.”

Meggitt had not responded to a press inquiry asking for comment as of Friday.

The bigger Meggitt expansion headlines the economic development activity disclosed in the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership’s newest “project funnel report,” released this week.

The EDP handled 72 inquiries about potential economic development projects during the first six months of 2019, according to the report. Of those, Boyle County was “qualified” for 66, and 34 entered a “due diligence” phase, during which prospective companies are doing things such as identifying possible locations. Twelve of those projects have been announced; five of those announced are complete and seven are in process, according to the report.

Jody Lassiter, president and CEO of the EDP, said that’s an improvement compared to last year’s second-quarter funnel report. At the same time in 2018, the EDP had handled 77 inquiries, but only five had been announced, four of which were still in process.

The five projects that have been announced and completed this year are:

• Project Eclipse — the larger expansion at Meggitt;

• a new Captain D’s franchise that is taking over the old Starbucks building on Brenda Avenue in front of Guadalajara;

• Project Cheer, an expansion of an existing business in Junction City;

• NuBreed Academy at the Kentucky Athletics Facility in Junction City; and 

• The Farmhouse Restaurant, which opened in Parksville in June.

The seven projects that have been announced and are in process are:

• an assisted living facility project, codenamed Project Twilight, from DMK Development Group, which is expected to create as many as 60 permanent jobs and house 81 residents;

• a new Asuka Japanese Steak House restaurant planning to locate next to Cattleman’s Roadhouse on the south end of the Danville bypass;

• a $6 million, 35-job hemp business, International Farmaceutical Extracts, that was preliminarily approved for state tax incentives in June;

• Bluegrass Sports Center, a new business in Danville planning to invest between $100,000 and $500,000;

• an expansion at Hobart in Danville expected to require an investment between $100,000 and $500,000 and create between 10 and 24 jobs;

• planned construction of additional rickhouses for barrel aging at IJW Whiskey on Lebanon Road; and

• Air Hydro Power Inc., a new commercial business planned in Danville that is expected to create between one and nine jobs.

Other projects of note in the funnel report include:

• Project Next: a potential expansion of an existing industry in Danville that would require an investment of more than $50 million and create more than 100 jobs; the initial inquiry came Jan. 29 and the project is currently in the “due diligence” phase.

• Project Globe: a potential commercial expansion in Danville that would represent an investment of between $100,000 and $500,000; the original inquiry came Feb. 15 and the project is currently in the “due diligence” phase.