SPOTLIGHT
The German-based company Holon, which manufactures autonomous electric vehicles, will open its first production plant for autonomous “movers” in Jacksonville. The completed facility will be an estimated 500,000 square feet and will produce about 5,000 autonomous vehicles per year. It will create up to 150 new jobs in Jacksonville by 2027.
Holon’s movers can travel up to 37 mph and fit up to 15 passengers. The company will partner with Orlando-based Beep for services and software for the movers. Holon already partners with Beep for autonomous vehicles at Lake Nona in Orlando as well as several other communities.
A supportive regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles and enthusiasm from Jacksonville and statelevel leaders made the city an ideal place for its new production plant, according to a spokesperson for the Benteler Group, which owns Holon.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) has focused recently on autonomous vehicles with pilot programs in the Brooklyn neighborhood of the city and at Florida State College of Jacksonville. It also plans to launch its Ultimate Urban Circulator, which will expand the Skyway in Jacksonville and bring autonomous vehicles to JTA’s transportation system.
Bringing Holon to Jacksonville adds a manufacturing element to the city’s existing focus on autonomous vehicles, according to Aundra Wallace, president of JAXUSA Partnership.
The production plant is set to be completed by 2026.
HEALTH CARE
- Landon Smith is now CEO of HCA Florida Putnam Hospital in Palatka. He was most recently COO of Trident Medical Center in Charleston, S.C. Smith is originally from the Putnam County area.
- AdventHealth will build a 12-bed off-site emergency department in St. Johns County on 10.75 acres.
- Construction is slated to begin in 2025, with completion by early 2026. Construction has begun on a health center in West Augustine, an underserved community in St. Johns County. The $8-million West Augustine Health and Wellness Center is scheduled to open in October of next year. The planned 14,000-sq.-ft. facility will offer physical and mental health services along with addiction treatment in partnership with UF Health St. Johns, EPIC Behavioral Healthcare and the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast. Most funding for the center comes from county and state sources.
- Mayo Clinic Florida received a $22-million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study 200 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and provide them with access to the experimental drug ibudilast over a six-month period. Mayo will receive $12 million of the grant and handle distribution of the remaining funding for collaborators. ALS currently has no cure.
- The University of Florida Mobile Outreach Clinic has received a two-year, $1.2-million grant to establish a mobile clinic for maternal health. The funding comes from the nonprofit Direct Relief and its Fund for Health Equity. The mobile unit will equip a 38-foot RV with two exam rooms, a waiting area and lab space. It will assist mothers and their families in Alachua and surrounding counties.
RETAIL
- The 28 retail stores for Salt Life, which got its start in Jacksonville Beach in 2003, have been closed. Delta Apparel, which owned the retail brand, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court in June, and was then purchased by Hilco Consumer-Retail Group and Iconix International during a court auction. The brand will continue through e-commerce. This does not affect Salt Life Food Shack restaurants.
HOUSING
- An “agrihood” may be underway in the future in St. Johns County. Freehold Communities of Boston, which developed the Shearwater community in the county, may develop nearly 2,700 acres to combine a farm along with more than 3,330 residential units and retail and commercial space.
- Jacksonville’s Ability Housing has received a $500,000 investment from Cogent Bank toward its Affordable Housing Fund. This is Ability’s first private-sector investment. The fund will allow Ability to offer low- or no-interest pre-development loans.
MUSEUMS
- The city of Jacksonville has committed $50 million over three years toward the Museum of Science & History (MOSH) that will begin construction in 2025. The commitment is part of the city’s capital improvement plan. MOSH has been part of downtown Jacksonville since 1969 and has a new location planned for downtown’s Shipyards area, slated to open in 2027.
- The Florida Museum of Natural History’s Powell Hall is set to be closed Jan. 6 through the rest of 2025 as it undergoes a $20-million renovation. Improvements will include an updated lobby, a larger collector’s shop and additional exhibit space, among other changes. The museum says it will reopen any affected areas in 2026. The museum is still planning pop-up exhibits and events.
PORT
- JAXPORT has received $23 million from the state to purchase a container crane for Talleyrand Marine Terminal and to refurbish existing cranes within its terminals.