Deegan talks small business and semiconductors at JAXUSA Partnership luncheon

A building once slated to be a controversial drive-through liquor store in the Brentwood area will instead open later this year as a small business center, Mayor Donna Deegan said Thursday during an appearance at a sold-out JAXUSA Partnership luncheon.

Deegan also highlighted the prospect of Jacksonville becoming home to the new Florida Semiconductor Institute, saying $80 million in state funding to start it would then connect Jacksonville to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money for expanding the nation's semiconductor manufacturing industry.

"We feel like we have the inside track on gaining that institute," Deegan told the lunch crowd at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. "It would be a big deal for our workforce. It would bring a great deal of money into the city."

She said the institute would be in downtown if the University of Florida picks Jacksonville for it.

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She also revealed the city's plans for the building on Golfair Boulevard that was on track to become a liquor store until waves of neighborhood opposition convinced the city to prevent that use by purchasing it.

"I'm very excited to say we're going to do a small business center and that's going to be fantastic," Deegan said, an announcement that drew applause from the audience.

The Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business division of the city will turn the building, located at 865 Golfair Blvd. just east of Interstate 95, into a place for workforce development and small business owner education. The city has not yet finalized a budget for the conversion and operation of the center, but the tentative opening date would be between July and September.

City Council approved $1.8 million in November to purchase the building and the city completed the acquisition in February.

Deegan talked about the small business center and the Florida Semiconductor Institute in a question-and-answer session with Misty Skipper, chairwoman of JAXUSA Partnership, the regional economic development arm of the chamber of commerce.

On the topic of downtown development, which the chamber has long advocated, Deegan said the Florida Semiconductor Institute would be in the "game-changer" category. At Gov. Ron DeSantis's request, the state Legislature put $80 million into next year's budget for the University Florida to launch the institute. It will train workers and conduct research in semiconductor manufacturing.

Deegan said beyond the state support, the institute also could tap into several hundred million dollars from the federal CHIPS Act. President Joe Biden's administration announced in February it will invest about $5 billion for semiconductor-related research and development along with worker training programs.

UF will make the decision on where to put the semiconductor institute. UF board Chairman Mori Hosseini said earlier this month if there is support from Jacksonville, it is the "right place for the community and for our state and for the university."

If UF picks Jacksonville for the institute, it would be in addition to the graduate center campus that UF plans to build in downtown. The graduate center still needs $50 million financial commitments from the city and private donors to hit a $300 million fundraising total set by UF. It's possible the Florida Semiconductor Institute could be built in the same part of downtown as the graduate campus.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville mayor Deegan gives keynote at Chamber of Commerce lunch