In a part of Jacksonville where "Cecil" starts the name of just about everything, Florida State College at Jacksonville recently bought a building that used to be a charter school so FSCJ can add space at its Cecil Center campus for high-demand classes in skilled trades such as welding.
Minutes away on the other side of Normandy Boulevard, Cecil Spaceport at Cecil Airport has a stand for testing rocket motors and could expand that high-intensity work with a bigger stand for larger rockets.
The college and the spaceport shared the spotlight Aug. 31 when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a total of $12 million in state funding for them at the Cecil Center campus that borders Cecil Commerce Center.
"It's a great day to be a Manta Ray," FSCJ President John
Avendano said in reference to the school's mascot when he took the stage after DeSantis.
He said the workforce programs will put students on a path toward well-paying jobs that businesses are eager to fill, including companies at Cecil Airport.
City Council President Nick Howland said Cecil Spaceport offers the same potential.
"It's a wonderful investment," he said after the announcement. "We're well on our way to growing Cecil Field as 'Aerospace Logistics Town, USA.'"
FSCJ trade training and Cecil Airport set to get state grants
DeSantis said $7 million will go to FSCJ for setting up the Cecil Training Institute. FSCJ will upgrade the building the college purchased this summer from Bold City Education so it can have welding and HVAC classes. FSCJ is aiming for fall 2027 and not later than spring 2028 for classes to start in the building.
Future cources at Cecil Training Institute will be in advanced manufacturing and logistics.
"I'm telling you, these are jobs that are going to be in demand," DeSantis said.
He said expanding classes for students pursuing those trades "tracks perfectly" with President Donald Trump's focus on expanding the nation's shipbuilding and maritime industrial base.
"We know there's going to be opportunities not just in Northeast Floida but throughout the state of Florida for young people that have these skills," he said.
On the space side of the economy, the state will invest $5 million though the state Department of Transportation's Spaceport Improvement Program for design and construction of a rocket motor test stand at Cecil Spaceport.
DeSantis said Florida's aerospace industry is not just in Brevard County.
"You've got a lot here in Jacksonville and I think you're going to see that more and more," DeSantis said.
Gov. DeSantis has come repeatedly to Cecil for grant awards
The $7 million announced by DeSantis for Cecil Training Institute marks the latest award to FSCJ and Cecil Airport from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.
DeSantis previously came to Cecil Airport in in 2021 to announce a $6 million award that helped pay for construction of a new road that opened a side of Cecil Airport for a new Boeing aircraft facility and the planned Otto Aviation manufacturing plant.
In 2022, DeSantis announced a $5.5 million grant for a railway spur at Cecil Commerce Center and a $3.2 million grant for FSCJto expand its truck driver course at FSCJ's Cecil Center to provide more classes at the college's campus in Yulee.
Cecil Center is in a part of the Westside where a massive Navy base was converted to Cecil Airport for aviation development and became Cecil Commerce Center for manufacturing and distribution centers.
State Rep. Wyman Duggan, a Jacksonville Republican mentioned as a possible challenger to Mayor Donna Deegan in 2027, said when he was originally elected to the Legislature in a district that contained Cecil Airport, it stood out as an asset already in place without having to "reinvent the wheel."
"Cecil is one of the greatest economic engines in all of the state," Duggan said. "It's got the third-longest runway in Florida. We have a commercial spaceport. I've tried in my eight years to do everything I can to amp that up, to bring more focus on it, to give it more roles and missions, to give it more authority, to get it more funding."
City of Jacksonville put up $5 million for FSCJ's Cecil Training Institute
The state's support for the Cecil Training Institute comes after Jacksonville City Council approved legislation in 2025 by council member Raul Arias putting up $5 million to help FSCJ buy the building that used to house the Cecil Early College charter school.
Bold City Education constructed the building on ground leased from FSCJ and agreed to sell the building after the charter school struggled to attract enough high school students to cover its cost.
Avendano said the state's support will help the college shift courses in welding and HVAC from the downtown campus where classroom space for them is at capacity. He said rather than construct more buildings in downtown, FSCJ will move those skilled trade courses to Cecil Training Institute where they are closer to Cecil Airport tenants.
He said FSCJ then will use space freed up at the downtown campus to expand popular programs such as culinary arts.
Avendano said FSCJ continues to look for ways to expand its aviation mechanic training program that operates out of a hangar at Cecil Airport and is at capacity.
He said when FSCJ had a graduation ceremony for 25 students who went through the aviation mechanic program, the room was lined by employers who were "hiring them as they crossed the stage. That's the demand."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: DeSantis announces state money for FSCJ and rocket testing on Westside
