Apple, the iconic information technology company whose products include the popular iPad and iPhone, plans to expand its presence in Austin by investing $304 million in a new campus that will create more than 3,600 new jobs over the next decade, Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Friday.
The planned campus will more than double the size of Apple's workforce in Texas during the next decade, supporting the company's growing operations in the Americas with expanded customer support, sales and accounting functions for the region.
In exchange for Apple's commitment to create these new jobs in Texas, the state has offered Apple an investment of $21 million over 10 years through the Texas Enterprise Fund.
The agreement is contingent upon the finalization of contracts and a local incentive agreement with the City of Austin and Travis County. The city has proposed incentives of up to $8.6 million.
“Apple is known for its bold innovation and game-changing designs,” the governor stated in a press release, “and the expansion of its Austin facility adds to the growing list of visionary high-tech companies that have found that Texas' economic climate is a perfect fit for its future.”
The state’s relatively low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulations and a skilled workforce were factors that contributed to Apple’s expanded commitment in Austin, the governor emphasized. “Investments like this further Texas' potential to become the nation's next high-tech hub.”
According to the Austin American Statesman, the local newspaper, Apple plans to spend $304 million on land, buildings and equipment for a 38-acre campus at West Parmer Lane and Delcour Drive in Northwest Austin. The proposed campus is near Apple's current campus on Riata Vista Circle.
The project would be built in two phases. The first phase, which would be completed before the end of 2015, would include approximately 200,000 square feet of building space. A second phase would include up to 800,000 additional square feet of space, the newspaper states.
A customer support center that Apple has operated in Austin for the past two decades has grown to about 3,500 employees as Apple's business has expanded.
When completed, the new campus will be one of the largest job creation projects in the history of the Texas Enterprise Fund, and one of the largest capital investments by a recipient of the fund, according to the governor’s office.
Created by the state legislature in 2003, the Texas Enterprise Fund has become one of the state’s most important tools to recruit and bolster business. To date, the fund has invested more than $443.4 million and closed the deal on projects generating more than 62,000 new jobs and more than $15.4 billion in capital investment in Texas.
The stock price of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) closed at $545.17 per share on Friday, March 9, up from $352.47 per share a year earlier.
Texas continues to make a big splash on the economic development front. Site Selection magazine announced earlier this month that Houston ranked as the No. 1 U.S. metropolitan area for corporate facility expansions and relocations in 2011. Greater Houston secured 195 corporate facility expansion projects in 2011, beating out Chicago, which garnered 167 facility deals last year.
— Matt Valley