{"id":287039,"date":"2026-05-28T03:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T03:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/287039\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T03:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T03:29:16","slug":"otto-aerospace-releases-cecil-airport-campus-renderings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/287039\/","title":{"rendered":"Otto Aerospace releases Cecil Airport campus renderings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"h954051-p1\" class=\"permalinkable\">Otto Aerospace, the Texas-based aircraft manufacturer that plans to move to Jacksonville, has released renderings of its planned Cecil Airport campus.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p2\" class=\"permalinkable\">Jacksonville Aviation Authority staff presented renderings of two new buildings and three hangars at the May 27 JAA board meeting.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p3\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u201cWe received some phenomenal new drawings from Otto Aerospace, our newest tenant and major employer at Cecil, showing the campus they expect to build the next few years,\u201d JAA CEO Mark VanLoh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p4\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u201cThis campus is not only where they\u2019re going to assemble the aircraft, but it\u2019s also a showroom, so you can come in and pick out your interior layout of the jet you\u2019re buying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Plans for the Otto Aerospace facility in Jacksonville comprise two buildings, including a showroom where buyers can custom design the aircraft.\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260527_-_Otto_Campus_3_t850.jpg\" title=\"Plans for the Otto Aerospace facility in Jacksonville comprise two buildings, including a showroom where buyers can custom design the aircraft.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Plans for the Otto Aerospace facility in Jacksonville comprise two buildings, including a showroom where buyers can custom design the aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>Special to the Daily Record<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p5\" class=\"permalinkable\">Otto is developing a business jet, the Phantom 3500, that completed preliminary design review in February. The aircraft features a laminar flow design, with a fuselage shaped somewhat like a football. The company says the design reduces drag by 35% and fuel usage by more than 60% compared with traditional business jets.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p6\" class=\"permalinkable\">Otto says it expects the first flight of the jet in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p7\" class=\"permalinkable\">At the campus, the city is reviewing a permit application for a $12.1 million renovation of a hangar for research and development. Balfour Beatty Construction LLC is the contractor for the conversion of Hangar 825 at 6105 Flightline Road in West Jacksonville. The JAA \u00a0owns the property.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p8\" class=\"permalinkable\">A March 23 city permit allowed the contractor to move ahead with interior demolition of 59,130 square feet of space at a project cost of $500,000.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Otto Aerospace says it plans a total capital investment of $430 million at Cecil Airport, where it proposes to build its Phantom 3500 business jet. The Texas-based company says that by the end of 2031, it will create 400 jobs at an average $90,000 salary in Jacksonville.\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260527_-_Otto_Campus_4_t850.jpg\" title=\"Otto Aerospace says it plans a total capital investment of $430 million at Cecil Airport, where it proposes to build its Phantom 3500 business jet. The Texas-based company says that by the end of 2031, it will create 400 jobs at an average $90,000 salary in Jacksonville.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Otto Aerospace says it plans a total capital investment of $430 million at Cecil Airport, where it proposes to build its Phantom 3500 business jet. The Texas-based company says that by the end of 2031, it will create 400 jobs at an average $90,000 salary in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n<p>Special to the Daily Record<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p9\" class=\"permalinkable\">Otto has said it would build more than 600,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space by Jan. 1, 2032. Plans called for creation of at least 400 jobs at an average $90,000 salary by the end of 2031, with possible expansions that would increase the workforce to 1,200 by 2040.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p10\" class=\"permalinkable\">The company said its total capital investment in Jacksonville would be $430 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Otto Aerospace plans to build its Phantom 3500 business jet in Jacksonville. The Texas-based aircraft manufacturer says it also is moving its headquarters to the city.\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260326_Phantom_t850.jpg\" title=\"Otto Aerospace plans to build its Phantom 3500 business jet in Jacksonville. The Texas-based aircraft manufacturer says it also is moving its headquarters to the city.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Otto Aerospace plans to build its Phantom 3500 business jet in Jacksonville. The Texas-based aircraft manufacturer says it also is moving its headquarters to the city.<\/p>\n<p>Courtesy of Otto Aerospace<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p11\" class=\"permalinkable\">In May 2025, the JAA board approved an incentives package for Otto that comprised:<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p12\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u2022 A $22.5 million investment by JAA for site preparation and design\/construction to extend taxiway E-1 to the property where Otto plans to build its facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p13\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u2022 Abatements on rent and common area maintenance fees on Hangar 825, worth $3.73 million.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p14\" class=\"permalinkable\">\u2022 Rent credits on Hangar 825, worth $1.5 million.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p15\" class=\"permalinkable\">In June 2025, Jacksonville City Council approved a $20 million incentive package for the aircraft company. The 18-0 vote constituted final action on a 20-year, 75% Recapture Enhanced Value Grant. A REV grant is a refund on ad valorem tax revenue generated by a new development or property enhancement.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h954051-p16\" class=\"permalinkable\">On May 4, Otto announced the appointment of Scott Drennan as CEO, succeeding company founder Paul Touw.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Otto Aerospace, the Texas-based aircraft manufacturer that plans to move to Jacksonville, has released renderings of its planned&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-287039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}