Nearly on the heels of Taylor landing a future Samsung semiconductor facility, Hutto is joining the high-tech party.
On June 8, Hutto’s municipal government and Titan Development announced the latter’s purchase of the Hutto Mega TechCenter from the city. The land acquisition closed on May 26 and is planned to be developed into a Titan industrial park in Hutto.
“We’re thrilled with the success current developers and businesses such as Titan are already seeing here, as well as the continued growth and prosperity Hutto will enjoy in the coming years,” said Mike Arismendez, Hutto Economic Development Corporation chairman. “Hutto is strategically building a culture in which area businesses support each other’s needs, their customers, and perhaps most importantly the Hutto community.”
Hutto Mega TechCenter is located on the south side of U.S. 79, adjacent to Hutto’s 450-acre megasite and about 1/2 mile west of FM 3349. The master site plan for the 188-acre industrial park, which is zoned as light Industrial, includes buildings ranging from 200,000 to more than 1,000,000 square feet.
“We are excited to be developing new industrial properties at this very attractive location in Hutto,” said Joe Ianncone, Titan Austin-based senior vice president. “We anticipate this new industrial park will help meet the increasing demand by hightech companies and suppliers to locate in the greater Austin area. Our new tenants, Ovivo Inc. and Kval Inc. in Titan’s Innovation Business Park, also located in Hutto, are a testament to the city’s appeal as a light industrial manufacturing hub.”
Hutto staff say the city and Titan realized early on the opportunity for this prime location to grow into an industrial hub for companies looking to expand or move into close proximity to Austin. In October 2017, Titan Development broke ground on Innovation Business Park and developed it within three years. Titan then purchased an additional 100 acres to expand the industrial park and has continued to meet the demands of the industry through successful development.
Arismendez added that he commended the expansion of Titan’s impressive footprint in Hutto, noting how well it fits within the Hutto EDC’s vision of advancing growth and opportunity. He says Hutto and its EDC are focused on cultivating a progressive environment for tech-focused and light industrial businesses, among others.
Bob Farley, Hutto economic development director, pointed to city advantages for developers and prospects, including being a transportation hub and having an extensive amount of prime land available for development.
“The value of Hutto’s most active economic development prospects currently run the gamut from a few hundred million dollars to well over $1 billion and more than 2,000 jobs,” said Farley.
Hutto Mega TechCenter won’t be too far from the Samsung Austin Semiconductor manufacturing plant announced for southwest Taylor last year. The company has invested $17 billion to build a semiconductor manufacturing plant on six million square feet in Taylor. Construction began earlier this year.
At a recent Rotary Club of Taylor meeting June 2, Michelle Glaze, Samsung Austin Semiconductor head of communications and community affairs, explained how Taylor’s plant will work operationally with Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s current faciility. By characterization, Glaze said the Austin site will be a legacy site, and the Taylor site will be an advanced technology site.
“For the near future, we will probably be making the highest advanced technology that we have at Samsung at Samsung Taylor. We don’t know exactly what that is yet. I’m assuming it’s going to be anything under 7 nanometers, which in 2024, that’ll still be one of the most advanced technology there is” said Glaze. “At Samsung Austin, we’re considered what’s legacy technology, so through 14 nanometers, … which is actually the majority of what most products have. We’re going to continue to make that at Samsung Austin.”
Back in Hutto, city staff say a few other major technology companies are in the advanced approval stages to potentially develop multi-billion dollar facilities inside the town.
WHAT IS TITAN DEVELOPMENT?
Titan Development reports itself as one of the Southwest’s largest and most active real estate development and investment companies offering services for varied asset classes including multifamily, industrial, senior living, self-storage, office, retail and residential. The company was founded in 1999 in New Mexico by Kevin Reid and Ben Spencer in an effort to provide a full range of real estate services to meet clients’ needs. Since then, Titan Development expanded into other strategic and high growth markets including Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida. Titan now has offices in both New Mexico and Texas.
Prior to the Hutto announcement, Titan’s presence was felt elsewhere in Williamson County relatively recently. On Feb. 23, CelLink Corporation announced it would open a manufacturing facility in Georgetown to produce flexible circuits used in electric vehicles and battery storage units. The facility will be at the Gateway35 Commerce Center, a master-planned industrial park by Titan. CelLink selected Titan’s Building 1, a Class A 294,297-square-foot building located in Georgetown between I-35 and SH 130. The new building is expected to be completed in June 2022.
