Company would get $500,000 this year and $500,000 next for first large-scale ‘flying car’ manufacturing site
An article by Dayton Daily News shares:
An advisory committee Monday recommended that Montgomery County commissioners approve $500,000 now and $500,000 next spring in development funds to persuade Joby Aviation to create a flying vehicle manufacturing operation near Dayton International Airport.
The site Joby is considering is 3571 Concorde Drive, but Veronica Morris, economic development director for the city of Dayton, said county funds would “follow” Joby if the company went to another Montgomery County location.
Gwen Eberly, economic development, and planning manager for Montgomery County, said 3571 Concorde, a former mail processing site, is the location Joby is focused on at the moment.
A spokeswoman for Joby said Monday afternoon the company had no new announcements to make.
Joby Aviation intends to build a manufacturing facility to make electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) — sometimes called “flying cars” — near Dayton International, having a facility operating by 2025.
Joby’s local employment could reach 2,000 workers, the state said in September, but recent Montgomery County documents indicate that closer to 1,200 jobs are expected, at least initially.
Morris said city of Dayton and Dayton Development Coalition officials will meet with Joby representatives for lunch in the Dayton area on Wednesday. She said she does not expect any formal action to take place.
Communities apply for county ED/GE development funding on behalf of companies moving to or expanding within Montgomery County. There are typically two application deadlines for a pair of funding rounds, in November and April.
The committee that met on Monday decides how much to recommend for each project. They can recommend that county commissioners approve the full amount for which municipalities apply, a partial amount — or they may recommend denying funding altogether.
In all, Montgomery County municipalities sought a combined $3.08 million for projects that could create up to 1,830 new jobs and retain 120 more.
“A lot of great jobs are going to be created here,” said Chris Williams, assistant county administrator for business services for the county.
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