Government
BY AMANDA CUTSHALL & SIERRA MARTIN
County OKs tax incentive for $5B data center Bastrop County is in the running to house a $5 billion data center campus after commissioners oered developers a 10-year property tax abate- ment during a Dec. 9 meeting. Some context Located at the northeast corner of FM 535 and Wolf Lane in Cedar Creek, the 112-acre lot was previously earmarked for a more than 2,000-home subdivision. Commissioners expressed their support to pivot plans to the data center. Bastrop County Judge Gregory Klaus noted that the subdivision would have required additional costs to employ more rst responders and would have increased trac
County supports SpaceX tax breaks Bastrop County’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, is on its way to qualifying for tax exemptions. In a nutshell Following the OK from county commis- sioners Dec. 9, Bastrop County Judge Gregory Klaus sent a letter of support to the Foreign Trade Zones of Central Texas to encourage ocials to grant SpaceX an FTZ designation. Klaus said this would exempt the com- pany from paying inventory taxes on items imported into and being held for export out of the facility, located on FM 1209 in Bastrop. Why it matters In a document submitted to the court by Precinct 4 Commissioner David Glass, the designation would help SpaceX streamline the overall receiving, production and shipping processes. This would improve the company’s job security and creation, infra- structure investment and development, and increased production capacity and product sales, he said. Notable quote “Right now, they’ve got about 900 employees out there,” Glass said during the meeting. “By the end of next year, they may have 1,200-1,500 employees. I think their tax base is around $900 million cur- rently. So, they’ve been a great community company to come to Bastrop County and a great resource for us.”
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SOURCE: EDGECONNEX, BASTROP COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
chooses Bastrop. Workman noted that the tax abatement would be a pivotal factor, adding that the customer is looking at other potential sites. “We need more industry here to take the tax burden o our residents,” Precinct 4 Commis- sioner David Glass said. “This is a project that’s got a ‘B’ in the word, you know, billions. It’s not a small project.” The impact Workman said the project would produce $7 million for the county, and $100 million for Bastrop ISD, during the 10-year tax abatement—not counting what the customer would produce. “Right now, the land is generating about $25,000 in annual tax revenue,” Workman said. Glass said when all is completed, the property would be valued at around $5 billion, including $1.4 billion in site improvements, according to county documents. “Our current tax base is $15 billion, so this could equal almost a third of our current tax base for properties,” Glass said. Notable quote “I personally feel very thankful that they’ve come to the county of Bastrop and asked us to work with them,” Glass said. “I think this is going to be a great thing for the county.”
congestion. The details
Known as DFW33220N, the project name and customer have not been released; however, it is being developed and will be operated by Virgin- ia-based custom data center provider EdgeConneX. The center will take between ve to eight years to complete and occupy 2.8 million square feet of space. The area will be divided between four buildings—three at 800,000 square feet each, and one at 400,000 square feet, said Todd Workman, spokesperson for EdgeConneX. “We don’t intend to just be here with buildings,” Workman said. “I mean, our buildings will be nice-looking, well-managed and quiet, but this is also a company that has a tendency to strongly engage in the community.” During the meeting, commissioners discussed the potential benets to the county if the customer
Bastrop City Attorney Alan Bojorquez resigns after seven years of service “Our rm made serving the city organization a top priority, but
On Dec. 10, Bastrop City Council accepted Bastrop City Attorney Alan Bojorquez’s resignation after seven years in the position. His last day to serve the city was Dec. 31. The details In his resignation letter obtained by Community Impact , Bojorquez said it’s been an honor to serve as a “steady, stabilizing inuence” during a period of “tremendous” change, but he is hoping the city can benet from dierent legal representation.
“I think we’re at a point to where the relationship has sort of run its course, and perhaps it’s time for y’all to have some new representation, and I’ll go o and serve other communities and let y’all recruit someone new to guide you,” Bojorquez said. Council members chose law rm Denton Navarro Rodriguez Bernal Santee & Zech to begin its interim legal representation, eective immediately, at a regular meeting Dec. 17. Assistant City Manager Andres Rosales said council members will begin the search for a new city attorney in early 2025.
when City Hall is ‘a house divided,’ it poses unique ethical challenges for a city attorney.” ALAN BOJORQUEZ, FORMER CITY ATTORNEY
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