At its May 6 meeting, San Marcos City Council extended an incentive offer that could create what Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, called the region's "largest economic development project, in terms of job creation, in recent history."

Under terms of the agreement, Upland Analytics, an Atlanta-based "technology-enabled asset valuation services firm," would relocate its headquarters to San Marcos.

The deal, which could be worth up to $125,000 over the next 5 years, will be contingent on the company meeting annual job creation benchmarks. According to the agreement, the company must create 125 new jobs in San Marcos during its first five years in the city.

The average annual wages of the jobs created would be $65,000, Cruz said.

"GSMP believes that the relocation of Upland Analytics is critical to the start of a new industry cluster in our region, helping to diversity our economy and create high paying jobs for our citizens," Cruz said. "This sends a message to corporate operations, financial services and technology firms that our region provides the talent, the environment and the collaborative partnerships for their success."

The agreement was unanimously approved by City Council. Cruz said the next step will be for the company to accept the deal, and the partnership is anticipating a response in the next few days, she said.

The initial proposal to bring the company to San Marcos involved a small business incubator loan from the state of Texas, but when the details of that deal did not work out, the city quickly shifted its focus to a performance-based job creation deal, Cruz said.

"It's an industry sector we don't have a lot of in terms of financial services, corporate headquarters, and the wages of the jobs for the employees is significant for the city of San Marcos and Hays County," she said.