Deep Eddy Vodka will open a new distillery in the city of Buda after the company closed on the purchase of a 194,000-square-foot building at 150 Precision Drive, Buda, on Tuesday.
“This ultimately keeps this Hays County business in Hays County and allows them to grow now and for the foreseeable future so they can remain in the county,” said Ann Miller, director of the Buda Economic Development Corporation.
Miller said the EDC has been working with Deep Eddy on plans to renovate the new facility.
Buda’s agreement with Deep Eddy Vodka will allow a 40 percent rebate on city property taxes paid on the new net value of taxable property, estimated at $80,000. The Buda Economic Development Corp. is providing $400,000 in cash incentives to the project. That includes $265,000 to assist with building upgrades and improvements, $110,000 for construction of a water line that will serve the project and adjacent properties and a $25,000 cash incentive if the company opens a tasting room facility in the city of Buda.
The county’s agreement with the company is a performance-based incentive, and assuming the company meets benchmarks set by the county, Deep Eddy will be reimbursed 40 percent of county taxes paid on the property for a five-year period.
The net benefit to the county will be $878,000 over a 10-year period. The benefit to Hays CISD will be $1.1 million over a 10-year period, Cruz said.
“I couldn’t be happier that Deep Eddy has chosen Buda for its new expanded facility,” Mayor Todd Ruge said. “This is a victory for the city of Buda and Hays County.”
Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, said the company will add 45 new jobs at the distillery as well as $12.5 million of investments. Renovations on the building will start later this year, and the company expects to begin full operations in Buda by early 2017.
“I’m thrilled that Deep Eddy will remain in Hays County and that all existing jobs will be retained," City Manager Kenneth Williams said in a press release. “The company is a welcome addition to the city of Buda.”
