Cosentino U.S. Manufacturing Plant: Jacksonville?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cosentino Group may be a step closer this week to eventually locating a U.S. manufacturing facility here.
A budget-advisory committee in Jacksonville voted 6-0 on April 24 on a proposal to sell 330 acres of city land to the Spanish surfaces company for approximately $20.5 million. According to the Jacksonville Daily News, the land would be used to build a production plant with an initial estimated investment of $270 million.
The Daily News reported that Cosentino has worked with the city since last fall concerning the proposed facility, to be located 20 miles east of the port of Jacksonville. The site is just off Interstate 10 and would also be served by a proposed railroad line extension.
Initial filings on the project used the alias of Raptor Stone, since Florida law allows for concealing the identity of companies in the first states of economic development. A filing late last week for the rail-spur included Cosentino, and allowed the Daily News to match the company with Raptor Stone.
The proposed facility, valued at a total $440 million would be built in two phases. The initial phase would include a 408,000 ft² facility, with another 734,000 ft² for support areas and two production lines. A stormwater-management permit issued last month to Raptor Stone indicated the facility would employ 180 people, according to the Daily News.
The Jacksonville Business Journal reported last September that the north Florida city was one of three locations being considered by Cosentino for the plant, which would manufacture Silestone HybriQ quartz surfaces. The factory would open in 2026.
At that time, the company stated that the decision would be based on the ability to acquire land and other economic incentives.
The Daily News noted that the land sale would also include a 50%, 10-year enhanced value grant capped at $12 million, and a $5.5 million transportation grant from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.
An economic development agreement and land sale will now be forwarded to the Jacksonville City Council for consideration.
This article was updated on April 24 with new information on the Jacksonville committee vote.
