BRUNSWICK (AP) — A former Navy officer is relocating part of his business from Virginia to the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, creating up to 50 jobs the first year and possibly as many as 200 over time, officials said Wednesday.

It took less than a month from initial phone call to completing a signed lease with Virginia-based Tempus Jets, whose CEO was familiar with the base because he served as a P-3 Orion aircraft navigator in Brunswick, officials said. The company will focus overhauling interiors of commercial jets for governments, corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

“It fits perfectly,” said Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority. “As their business grows, they see this as a perfect place to grow their enterprise.”

Tempus Jets CEO Scott Terry said Hangar 6, where Wednesday’s announcement was made, was built to house an aircraft the size of a Boeing 737, one of the aircraft the company intends to overhaul. With modifications, the hangars at Brunswick Executive Airport could accommodate even larger planes like the Boeing 747.

The company initially will bring a dozen technical staffers from Newport News, Va., then will expand to 50 employees over a year. It expects to be working on two aircraft, including a Gulfstream III, by month’s end.

Tempus, which is leasing 34,532 square-feet of space, will share the 166,355-square-foot Hangar 6 with Kestrel Aviation, which is developing an all-composite turboprop aircraft and FlightLevel Aviation. Eventually, Tempus could need considerably more space to accommodate up to six commercial jets, Levesque said.

Terry downplayed the jobs numbers, which could run into the hundreds.

“We’re going to do our best, is what we’re going to do. And hopefully our best will result in a significant economic impact for the community,” he told reporters.

The company focuses on high-end interior overhauls that include leather chairs, recliners, sofas, bedrooms and showers at a cost ranging from $10 million to $200 million, he said.

In the past, the company has employed as many as 350 people but its employment is now about 150 across several divisions. It’s in the process of restarting interior overhauls, he said.

Terry knew about the Brunswick Naval Air Station because he served at the base in the early 1990s. He knew that Hangar 6 was built to accommodate the P-3 Orion’s successor, the P-8 Poseidon, which is based on the Boeing 737. Having a community college based at the former base was an added bonus, he said.

The deal came together quickly, with the company contacting redevelopment officials on Aug. 6 and signing a one-year lease on Aug. 28, Levesque said. The Maine Department of Economic & Community Development worked with Tempus Jets and the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority to complete the deal.

The company fits with plans to target aviation-related businesses that can use the base’s hangars and twin 8,000-foot-long runways. The agency recently announced plans to create a general aviation terminal.

Already, 214 private sector jobs have been created and 260 acres and 24 buildings have been turned over to the private sector. Companies with operations at the former base include Molnlycke Health Care, Maine Tool and Machine, Kestrel Aviation and Oxford Networks. Before the base closed in 2011, it employed 700 civilians.

“It’s coming together. The plans are being realized and it’s being realized faster than we projected, so we’re very excited about that,” Levesque said.

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