Development: What’s Coming Next

The Austin area has seen so much growth in the last 10 years and we are still seeing that growth spread throughout the surrounding areas. So we decided to create a series of blogs detailing some of the areas' projects. This week we’re bringing you updates on Taylor, TX. 

Taylor Development:

In November 2021 Samsung and the city of Taylor announced the Samsung project. Agreements were signed with Samsung once they decided to make the move to Taylor to build their new semiconductor manufacturing facility. 

The Samsung manufacturing facility is going to be located between highway 79 and FM 973. Samsung is set to invest $17 billion in land, equipment, buildings, and other personal building property, this includes the purchase of 1,000+ acres of land for the 6 million square foot semiconductor manufacturing facility, which is projected to be fully operational by the end of 2025.

On July 15th, 2022 Taylor city council held a meeting where they voted to approve two additional agreements with Samsung to one, ensure that the city can capture use tax for the construction project and two, a public funding agreement that formalized the infrastructure costs that Samsung has agreed to pay for the project. 

With these new funding agreements in place, Samsung will be responsible for the 973 water supply line, 401 water line(Williamson county project), and the North Pump Station. The agreement outlines a payment schedule and a funding mechanism that will be utilized to fund the infrastructure improvements that are needed to complete the project. 

In addition, the city of Taylor and Samsung have agreed on the chapter 380 agreement, this agreement will help the city of Taylor collect additional tax revenue that will be shared between the city of Taylor, Taylor EDC, and Samsung. This revenue-sharing agreement will help to separate the tax charged for the construction of the project and designate it as a point use tax, that will be payable to the city of Taylor. This will help keep funds inside the city versus the sales tax going outside the city. 

The agreement is set to add to the city’s general fund, this will allow the city to purchase additional needed equipment or services without raising property taxes, charging residents, or incurring additional debt. The city of Taylor should see $52 million over the term of the agreement. 

Samsung coming to Taylor will also provide an estimated 6,000-10,000 construction jobs, and they have agreed to meet a specific employment benchmark to recruit local employees from the city and the county. Samsung has agreed that they will endeavor to create, fill, and maintain at least 1,800 employment positions, all of which they are projecting to fill by the 7th anniversary of the project. 

The goal is to maintain a diverse and well-represented workforce with enhanced recruiting of residents of the city and potential minority job applicants. They will eventually hold one or more recruiting job fairs with the help of the Texas Workforce Commission to assist in hiring individuals that live in or represent the City of Taylor.

Samsung is also planning on acquiring the necessary goods and services from the individuals located in the city, maintaining their current practice of utilizing local small businesses. 

Photo by: K. Mitch Hodge & Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash