Airplane maker tax break, Downtown board independence, air-quality study pass City Council

In addition to approving a land swap meant to pave the way for both the University of Florida’s LaVilla graduate campus and a hotel development on the Northbank riverfront  — and approving a contentiously debated measure meant to limit public spending on undocumented immigrants — the Jacksonville City Council also on Tuesday approved a tax break to an aviation startup to build their next-generation business jet in Jacksonville; authorized $450,000 to expand air quality monitoring; and provided more autonomy to the city’s Downtown Investment Authority.

City lawmakers voted 18-0 to approve Resolution 2025-392, which provides Texas-based startup Otto Aviation a $20 million property tax rebate – also called a Recapture Enhanced Value Grant – to relocate its headquarters and establish a manufacturing facility at Cecil Airport on the Westside for jet production. Previously called Project Bluebird by city officials, the aviation company says it will invest $430 million to bring its Phantom 3500 aircraft production to Cecil, owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. The facility is meant to create 400 jobs by December 2031, and Otto tells the city employment could reach 1,200 by 2040. The tax break would be based on $140 million in manufacturing equipment installed in its facility. The aviation authority board signed off on the deal on May 19, including a $34.9 million incentive package of infrastructure investments and rent and maintenance abatements. The agreement was negotiated by the city Office of Economic Development, the aviation authority and JAX Chamber.

Jacksonville will add $450,000 to a $300,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency grant to expand mobile air quality monitoring efforts in disadvantaged communities, particularly in Health Zone 1. Council voted 18-0 on Ordinance 2025-0330 to appropriate the city match from the Environmental Protection Fund. According to the bill summary, the data will help the city analyze air quality in areas historically experiencing environmental health disparities. The program will also be a secondary method for odor investigations and will be used to monitor a Southside ethylene oxide medical sterilization facility, according to a summary from the Jacksonville Environmental Protection board’s Nov. 18, 2024 meeting.

And on the heels of the DIA board’s selecting its next CEO – exiting Baltimore Development Corp. Chief Executive Colin Tarbert – Council voted 17-0 on Ordinance 2025-0395 that changes the way Jacksonville’s Downtown development agency awards private incentives and gets deals approved. The bill allows the DIA to get approval for development agreements from council instead of first going through the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee. At the same time, it reduces a cap on incentives the DIA board can independently approve without council approval, from $18 million down to $10 million. Bill sponsor Council Vice President Kevin Carrico says the agency will be able to independently approve more development deals. After pushback from several members, committees stripped a provision from the bill that would have given council the authority to confirm and remove the DIA CEO.