About 600 employees moved into the new campus last year, and the company plans to build two additional buildings on the 50-acre property by early 2018. Once all construction is complete, the campus will employ about 1,600 people with the capacity to expand to 2,600, according to Charles Schwab.
The company plans to continue growing its presence in Austin, said spokeswoman Sarah Bulgatz.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler, in remarks during Thursday’s ceremony, noted that Austin is now the third-largest center for Charles Schwab, based on total employees. The company first opened a service center in Austin in July 2000 and has two branches in the city: one at 12401 Research Blvd. in Northwest Austin as well as downtown at 501 Congress St.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler gives remarks during a ceremony Thursday marking the opening of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc's new North Austin campus.[/caption]Adler said Charles Schwab’s culture fits with Austin, highlighting that the company’s practices have received acclaim from the Human Rights Campaign and that Charles Schwab will aim for sustainable-building LEED Gold certification with the two new buildings it plans to construct on the site.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that Charles Schwab chose Austin,” Adler said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Charles Schwab’s growth in Austin, as well as in El Paso and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is a sign of Texas’ diversifying economy after long leaning on the oil business to bolster the state economy. Abbott said the state's success relies upon such diversification, particularly in the technology, medicine and finance industries.
“It means that our state will have an unstoppable economy moving forward,” Abbott said.
Charles Schwab received considerable tax incentives from both Texas and Travis County to build the new campus.
In 2014, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved more than $3 million in tax abatements by granting the equivalent to a 48.5 percent rebate on ad valorem property taxes and allowing for an additional 3 percent rebate if the company builds its new construction to eco-friendly building standards. Texas officials later approved a $4.5 million incentive grant.
Charles Schwab’s new campus, located at 2309 Gracy Farms Lane, will eventually include 469,000 square feet of office space in two five-story office buildings, along with a parking garage and an additional building with a cafe and multipurpose space for meetings and training.
Charles Schwab bought the Gracy Farms land from IBM in 2014 and began renovating the existing office building, previously known as the Tivoli building, in fall 2015.
Additional construction on the site is expected to be complete by early 2018, and about 1,000 remaining employees from the company’s office in Research Park should be ready to move over by summer of the same year, according to the company.
In exchange for tax incentives from Travis County, Charles Schwab agreed to invest $196.7 million locally, maintain 1,683 jobs and create 823 new jobs.
Walt Bettinger, president and CEO of Charles Schwab, said Thursday the company has made significant progress in the last two years toward meeting that goal, adding that Charles Schwab anticipates remaining “for many, many decades in Austin and in the great state of Texas.”
