Joby Aviation acquires second airport-area building as Dayton-area growth speeds up

In a sign of accelerated growth, Joby Aviation said Wednesday it has agreed to buy a giant Vandalia building to use as a production site as it ramps up plans to make electric aircraft.

The 728,000-square-foot building (the size of nearly four Walmart stores) at 1669 Capstone Way will support Joby’s plans to double production to four aircraft a month in 2027, while also providing space for “significant future growth,” the company said.

Joby Aero, a wholly owned subsidiary of Joby Aviation, agreed to buy the building from Capstone STS, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, for $61.5 million, according to an 8-K regulatory document Joby filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday.

“That’s a good price,” said Dave Dickerson, president of business development at Miller Valentine Construction in Dayton. “That’s a big investment for the region.”

Joby plans to pair an ongoing production facility in California with its Ohio operations. The company began production at a smaller, Concorde Drive facility near Dayton International Airport in November.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

“This site will not only support our near-term plan to double production, it can also serve as a base for significant future growth, as we turn a decade of engineering into the manufacturing scale the market is now demanding,” JoeBen Bevirt, Joby founder and chief executive, said in a statement.

“From the world’s first aircraft factory to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton has long been the epicenter of aerospace innovation and we’re proud to be building the next generation of flight right here,” Bevirt also said. “The reindustrialization of Ohio has become central to Joby’s story and with unmatched governmental and policy support, we’re ready to make sure that the commercial and defense aircraft that define the future of flight are built right here in America.”

A Joby representative said the company intends to retain its Concorde Drive plant in Dayton.

Taking flight

In July 2025, Joby announced the completion of a manufacturing facility in Marina, California, a few months before the start of propeller blade production in Dayton.

“From the Wright Brothers to Joby Aviation, Ohio has always been where the future of flight takes shape,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Joby’s expanded manufacturing presence in Vandalia and the Miami Valley brings together our state’s rich aviation heritage with our world-class advanced manufacturing workforce to build the aircraft that will redefine how people and goods move through our cities.”

“Joby’s expansion builds on Dayton’s legacy as the birthplace of aviation while shaping the future of flight,” Sen. Jon Husted said in Joby’s statement. “This new, more than 700,000-square-foot facility will create new jobs for Ohioans and allow Joby to increase its aircraft production.”

“The announcement of the second Joby facility here in Ohio is great news for the Dayton area,” U.S. Rep. Mike Turner said.

“As the world’s leading advanced air mobility company, Joby’s decision to double down in Ohio speaks to the speed at which advanced technologies can scale in our state and the powerful and collaborative environment Team Ohio and the Dayton Development Coalition have built to support growth of emerging industries in the region,” said JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef. “Since Joby first announced its massive air taxi facility in 2023, it is again demonstrating how this state delivers what companies need to move from innovation to production at scale.”

“Joby’s initial commitment to create an air taxi manufacturing hub ignited a new vision for the future of the Dayton region as a leader for advanced air mobility,’ said Dayton Development Coalition President and CEO Jeff Hoagland. “That vision is already coming to life. Today’s announcement to expand their operations further here in the region sets the stage for continuing growth in this emerging industry.”

The Capstone Way building was built on-spec in Vandalia’s Stonequarry Crossings industrial park by Pinchal & Co. On-spec construction goes forward without an initial tenant immediately identified for a building.

A Houston, Texas-based limited liability company purchased the building in August, according to Montgomery County Auditor’s Office records. No purchase price was given for that transaction. The building previously sold for just over $2.8 million in 2022.

This planned manufacturing growth in Ohio comes at a time Joby leaders see as opportune, when federal leaders are signaling new openness to the kinds of craft Joby produces — electric vehicles that quietly lift off like helicopters, cruise like conventional winged airplanes and land again like helicopters.

Joby is eyeing opportunities in civilian markets in the United States and in other nations, primarily transporting passengers to urban airports. But the company has also worked with the Air Force on various applications.

Credit: Bryant Billing

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy recently announced a national strategy for advancing what some call “advanced air mobility,” providing what leaders of Joby see as a regulatory road map to accelerate deployment and integration of these aircraft into the nation’s air travel system.

This alignment comes as the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation prepare to deploy a path to adoption of these vehicles, the “eVTOL Integration Pilot Program” this year.

Said Joby in its release: “By validating operational use cases and flight routes across the country ahead of final (FAA) type certification, the eIPP — paired with the strategy’s policy recommendations — enables regulators, local communities, and industry leaders to prepare for the arrival of advanced air mobility."