Quick Take:
Santa Cruz’s Joby Aviation has joined forces with REEF Technology and Neighborhood Property Group to transform parking garages into “mobility hubs” -- takeoff and landing spots for Joby’s aerial taxis.
Parking garages as helipads?
Yep, that’s what Joby Aviation’s new partnership aims for.
The Santa Cruz County-based business announced a new partnership last week with REEF Technology and Neighborhood Property Group to repurpose the top level of parking garages as takeoff and landing pads for the company’s aerial taxis, per a news release.
Joby is still planning to launch its ridesharing service in 2024. With this new partnership, the goal is to nail down exactly where users can get a lift — or in this case, flight.
The company is looking to launch in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, plus Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
“This is a landmark deal on Joby’s path to building a transformational ridesharing service in our skies,” Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said in a statement. “Parking structures are ideal locations for us as they allow us to deliver our customers as close to their destination as possible, while minimizing any local impact and reducing the need for building new infrastructure.”
Miami-based REEF Technology is focused on adaptive reuse for parking garages across the nation and has access to more than 5,000 sites across North America. Neighborhood Property Group, an affiliate of REEF and Oaktree Capital Management, is helping with acquisition of “mobility hubs” across the U.S.
In addition to the REEF partnership, Joby announced plans earlier this month to collaborate with Macquarie Capital and Signature Aviation on its skyport infrastructure development.