Three companies that have a history of doing business with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. have purchased land in the RCR Taylor Rail Logistics Park.
Four land parcels, totaling 112 acres, were acquired from RCR by three buyers between December and early February, according to property records on file at the Williamson County Appraisal District.
The rail park is not far from where the South Korea-based company is building its chipmaking plant, Samsung Austin Semiconductor.
The largest prospect is Soulbrain Holdings Co. Ltd., a company based in South Korea that bought 59 acres Dec. 20 on a lot with extensive rail siding for loading and unloading rail cars. The chemical company is a longtime supplier to Samsung and recently merged with DNF Co., another Samsung-linked firm.
The company brought another 26 acres on the other side of the tracks at the same time. Early this year, Soulbrain purchased three condos in Hutto’s Emory Crossing as it was in final negotiation stages with Taylor officials over an incentive package.
Ben White, CEO of the Taylor Economic Development Corp., said those tax incentives will be presented to the City Council for a vote in the coming weeks.
While the details haven’t been released and White couldn’t discuss them, he said Taylor had to compete with other possible sites for Soulbrain’s operations to serve Samsung.
Economic incentives, especially those involving property-tax reduction, are usually tied to significant job growth.
“Economic development is a competitive sport,” White said.
That doesn’t mean all companies will qualify for incentives, but some have choices of where they want to locate the jobs and need enticements, he added.
Also in December, Kwang Yul Choi purchased 15 acres in the rail park. Choi is the CEO of Santa Cruz, Calif.-based ENC Inc., an ocean and airfreight company with offices worldwide including Austin and several in South Korea.
The most recent land purchase in the rail park, which also is next to the Hutto Megasite development, is a 12.2-acre parcel deeded Feb. 1 by HTNS America Inc.
The company is the U.S. arm of the Hanaro TNS Co. Ltd., a 25-year-old worldwide logistics company based in South Korea. Various units of Samsung around the world have been longtime clients and rail transportation is a big part of its distribution mix.
The 755-acre RCR rail logistics park started coming together in 2018, long before Taylor was known as a possible Samsung Austin Semiconductor expansion site for an advanced manufacturing foundry.
State, local and Samsung officials announced the new foundry would be built in Southwest Taylor in November 2021.
Owner McAlister Assets built its own rail spur and intermodal rail yard at U.S. 79 and FM 3349 with access to the Missouri Pacific line.
The intermodal rail yard also has miles of track on 755 acres.
In 2022, co-founder Hydie McAlister told Taylor Press’ East Wilco Insider magazine that all 18 parcels in the park were under contract. Recently, however, cofounder Sharon Beach told the Austin Business Journal that about five of the 18 parcels are still on the market.
Electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla — with its Gigafactory just miles away in fast east Austin — was one of the earliest users of the rail yard to ship finished cars and cyber trucks to markets around the country.
Materials of all sorts for the neighboring $17 billion Samsung foundry construction site also are coming through the rail park.
White said the 300,000-square-foot Rail Port building at RCR just went on the market for multiple tenants and “will be a great advantage” in drawing companies that need ready-to-go facilities.
