A proposal to offer taxpayer-funded incentives to an aviation company to create a manufacturing and production plant in West Jacksonville is on its way to the Jacksonville City Council.
The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee voted unanimously May 12 to allow the city Office of Economic Development to submit legislation to provide up to $20 million in incentives to the company, which is code-named Project Bluebird by the city.
An OED summary says the company plans to invest more than $430 million “within the fence” at Cecil Airport, where it will initially operate out of an existing hangar and then build a manufacturing facility within five years on 80 to 100 acres.
The city would provide a 20-year, 75% Recapture Enhanced Value Grant to the company, which according to the OED is finalizing development on a new passenger jet and is seeking a site to build it.
OED Executive Director Ed Randolph told MBRC members the plant would employ a workforce of more than 1,200 in the next 15 years at an average wage of $90,000, not including benefits.
He said the facility would give an additional boost the city’s economy beyond the direct investment and jobs.
“Not only are they doing their project, but we’re envisioning other suppliers and other downstream entities to come on board as well,” he said.
“So this would really be a boon for the Cecil area and the city.”
The factory will have $140 million of equipment and finishings, which are taxable by the city and which would be the basis for the REV grant. A REV grant is a refund on tax revenue generated by a new development or property enhancement.
The OED summary says the project has a return on investment of $1.24 per $1 of city incentives.
In addition, the summary says the state of Florida is considering providing incentives through its Corporate Income Tax Credit and High Impact Performance Incentive Grant programs.
Randolph said Council legislation containing the incentive package would likely be filed this week, possibly as soon as May 13.
According to a March 27 service availability request to city utility JEA, Project Bluebird is planning 280,000 square feet of improvements northeast of Cecil Airport, including the construction of a manufacturing facility, hangar space and an office building.
Bluebird’s project description resembles a proposal under development by San Diego aircraft manufacturer startup Natilus, which announced in March it was starting a process to select the site of its first U.S. manufacturing facility.
The company says it is developing cargo and passenger planes with a “blended-wing-body” design that includes a wide, flat, triangular fuselage with wings and tail fins in the rear. Natilus says the design offers “dramatically improved aerodynamic efficiency while also providing a powerful increase in internal volume, translating into less fuel burn, less emissions, higher payloads, and lower operating costs.”
The company says it’s seeking to build its Kona cargo plane in a 250,000-square-foot facility with 300 full-time employees and a capacity for 60 aircraft annually.
It is also looking at the U.S., United Arab Emirates, India and Saudi Arabia for a second 2.5 million-square-foot facility to produce its Horizon passenger jet. That facility would employ about 3,000 workers, the company says, with plans to come online in 2030.