Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ventura County Wins $550,000 Predevelopment Grant to Build Advanced Air Mobility Test Range and Innovation Hub
Summary
The county received a $550,000 Uplift Central Coast Catalyst grant to develop an Advanced Air Mobility Innovation Center linking Oxnard and Camarillo airports with industry, Navy base and colleges to support testing, business development and workforce training.
Ventura County supervisors unanimously authorized acceptance of a $550,000 "Uplift Central Coast" Catalyst Grant on April 8 to advance an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Innovation Center located at the county’s Oxnard and Camarillo airports.
"The County of Ventura has been awarded a $550,000 catalyst grant as part of Uplift Central Coast's $9 million catalyst predevelopment program," said Estelle Busa, deputy executive officer for economic vitality. She told the board the award will fund development of an FAA‑approved AAM test range and a linked innovation center for unmanned aircraft systems and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) testing, business development and workforce training.
County staff said the initiative would position Ventura County as a Southern anchor for a regional aviation and aerospace corridor and strengthen ties to naval base Ventura County. "The innovation center will catalyze Ventura County's economy and serve as a southern anchor of a regional aviation and aerospace corridor," Busa said.
Partners named in the application include the county airports department, Future Labs/Fathom Works (technology transfer and defense‑industry connections), Ventura County Community College District (workforce pathways), the Navy base and the Economic Development Collaborative. Bruce Stensley of the Economic Development Collaborative said the region already has core elements of the “autonomous systems value chain” and the grant will build shared infrastructure for testing and company growth.
The county executive office said the award will be used for predevelopment and ecosystem building; awards for the Uplift Central Coast catalyst program were divided among 36 projects in a six‑county region. Board members praised the project as a public‑private partnership likely to attract startups and defense‑sector work and voted unanimously to accept the grant and authorize the county executive to sign related documents.
What's next: Staff will finalize agreements with partners, complete predevelopment planning funded by the grant, and return with next steps for contracts, testing range buildout and workforce program design.
