Collins Aerospace Corp. appears to be on the brink of opening its marine composites manufacturing plant in North Jacksonville that could employ more than 100 people.
The company will open the plant in a 140,400-square-foot building it will lease at 10531 Busch Drive N. in Imeson International Industrial Park.
Collins Aerospace applied to the city for a certificate of use to operate the center. Building plans approved in January showed tenant improvements in two phases of offices and manufacturing space to make polyurethane parts for clients that include the U.S. Department of Defense.
The company is the combined UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins.
Collins Aerospace did not respond to questions.
Webb Southeast Corp. obtained a permit in January to build-out the office space at a cost of $982,000. Since January, the city approved more than $3 million of tenant improvements for the structure.
The city approved the shell structure construction in May 2018 at a cost of $4.4 million.
Collins Aerospace matches the description of Project Turtle, a code-named advanced-manufacturing project.
City Council adopted a resolution in January for $1.64 million in city and state taxpayer-backed financial incentives to expand the unidentified manufacturer’s Jacksonville operation and hire 108 employees.
A development agreement contract has not been executed.
Turtle proposes to invest $21 million into a new 140,000-square-foot building in North Jacksonville and buy equipment.
Collins Aerospace leases space at 6061 BF Goodrich Blvd. in North Jacksonville at the Blount Island Marine Terminal. The certificate of use application lists that address as the company’s main Jacksonville location. The incentives legislation said Turtle would retain the 111 jobs it already has in Jacksonville.
Turtle said the new jobs would pay an average annual wage of $53,298 plus benefits. It sought a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund from the city and state and a Recapture Enhanced Value grant from the city.
Construction would be completed by year-end 2020. The agreement states that 30 jobs would be created this year and 78 next year.
Posted job openings include those for a production supervisor and production workers for Collins Aerospace in Jacksonville, “home to our Engineered Polymer Products division” which “is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced, high-performance composite and elastomeric structures and products for marine applications. Whether in the air or underwater, we’re pushing the limits of innovation.”
The location is listed at Goodrich Boulevard but a posting says the employee “must be willing to transfer to new facility upon its opening, which is less than 9 miles from the current site in Jacksonville Florida.”