PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Autonomous Innovation Center is an anchor for the city’s Ultimate Urban Circulator (U²C) program. Designed to modernize mobility through use of autonomous electric shuttles and connected infrastructures, this smart-city initiative is the operational hub of a next-generation transit system, housing fleet maintenance bays, charging infrastructure, and a command-and-control floor designed to oversee the Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation program.

Read more about this project in the Winter 2026 issue of Ascent.

PRECAST SOLUTION

Autonomous Innovation Center was built entirely of precast concrete to ensure not only a speedy and streamlined construction timeline on a tight urban building site, but also to reflect the structure’s working purpose as a maintenance facility for the city’s autonomous electric shuttles.

 

Project Team

Owners

Jacksonville Transportation Authority

Architect

WGI

Contractor

Balfour Beatty

Structural Engineer

WGI

Precast Concrete Producer

Wells

Photo Credit

Jacksonville Transit Authority

Key Project Attributes

  • The two-story building needed to be innovative, reflect the brand of JTA, and also showcase the innovation inside, so we made the structure transparent, and it illuminates from the inside at night, providing glimpses of the future within.
  • On the interior, much of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) infrastructure remains exposed.
  • Key project goals were to balance cost, scale, speed, and expandability for the future.

Project/Precast Scope

  • It took only 14 days to erect the total–precast concrete structure. Precast concrete was also selected for the budget and schedule advantages and the economies of scale due to repetition.
  • Total–precast concrete met both structural and aesthetic goals in one integrated system, reflecting precast concrete’s ability to provide customized design elements without sacrificing speed of construction or structural durability.
  • The total-precast project accelerated construction and reduced the need for significant equipment on the tight jobsite.
  • In addition to thermal efficiency, the precast concrete insulated wall system also provides thermal efficiency, durability, noise, and blast resistance.