Bastrop County grants tax abatement incentive to multibillion-dollar data center

Bastrop County is in the running to house a $5 billion data center campus after commissioners offered developers a 10-year property tax abatement 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 first responders and would have increased traffic 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 Virginia-based custom data center provider EdgeConneX.

The center will take between five 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 benefits to the county if the customer 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 of our residents,” Precinct 4 Commissioner 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 generate.

“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.”