JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Autonomous vehicles could be the key to growing Jacksonville’s downtown.
The city council approved $7.7 million in incentives Tuesday night, for an unnamed company to build an autonomous vehicle plant in the city.
According to our news partners at the Jacksonville Daily Record, the company behind “Project Link” is likely Holon, which lists Jacksonville as a partner on its website.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority wants to modernize the downtown area by adding more than a dozen self-driving vehicles along several parts of Bay Street by 2025 and creating a 3-mile loop called the Bay Street Innovation Corridor between the downtown core and the sports and entertainment district.
The corridor is expected to have 12 different stops.
The agency also just broke ground on a $65 million Autonomous Innovation Center in LaVilla.
Holon’s website states that JTA, Beep, and Holon plan to work together to create a mixed-traffic route connecting neighborhoods and businesses to a sports and entertainment complex.
Project Link also includes a 450,000-square-foot autonomous electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, which would be the first in the state. It would also employ up to 200 people, offer competitive wages and benefits, and have a capital investment of $100 million.
Holon’s autonomous vehicle was one of the many vehicles displayed at the city’s Autonomous Vehicle Day.
Earlier this week, the president of the Jax Chamber said the city should look into partnering with Waymo, after seeing the company’s vehicles in action during a trip to downtown Phoenix.