Williamson County commissioners unanimously approved an economic development agreement Aug. 20 for Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space technology company, to possibly construct a facility on Innovation Boulevard in Hutto.
What we know
The deal would facilitate Blue Origin’s construction of approximately one million square-feet of industrial research space related to the aerospace and defense industry, located in Hutto Crossing industrial park, according to county documents.
The facility represents an $674 million investment in the county, and would create as many as 2,000 jobs in 10 years, officials said at the meeting. This would make it the largest employer in the city of Hutto, Precinct 4 commissioner Russ Boles said
“That's one of the largest economic investments in our county ever,” Judge Steve Snell said. “And it is an American company with American jobs.”
The company has also committed to working with Hutto ISD for paid high school internships, and Career and Technical Education development, Boles said.
Although both the city and county have approved economic development agreements for Blue Origin, the state still must approve the deal, and the company must commit to the site, Snell said. The Hutto site is the only site being considered in Texas, Snell said.
Something to note
The county’s deal mirrors the incentives that the Hutto Economic Development Corporation recently approved, Snell said. The exact details of the agreements have not been made public, and are still under active negotiation, EDC Director Cheney Gamboa said.
“I think the local community has shown support at the city level, the EDC, and now the county,” Gamboa said. “So we hope that’s a strong signal to the state that we really want this project to be in Hutto.”
About the company
Founded in 2000, Blue Origin aims to build reusable rocket technology to lower the cost of space travel, making it more accessible, according to its website.
Blue Origin was the first private company to land a reusable rocket on a landing pad, and has completed 38 missions, sending 98 people into space, according to Britannica.
The company is headquartered in Kent, Seattle, and has test sites in west Texas.
