The $52 billion federal CHIPS and Science Act signed in 2022 had the objective to revive U.S. high-tech manufacturing in the face of increased overseas competition.
According to the White House, the CHIPS grant program has spawned almost $400 billion in private company investment commitments to semiconductor and electronics across the country.
Perhaps no single state has benefited more from new technology investment than Texas. Many point to Samsung Electronics’ commitment as an example.
The company has been operating a campus north of Austin since 1997. More recently, Samsung has been credited by Gov. Greg Abbott in a recent post as being “the leading company in the future success of our great state.”
Some estimates suggest Samsung’s total investment in central Texas could eventually total as much as $63 billion.
Aided by $6.4 billion in CHIPS grants, Samsung may end up allocating as much as $45 billion alone to its new six-million-square-foot, next-generation chipmaking plant near Taylor, Texas, 40 miles north of Austin.
The cornfields that once surrounded Taylor are being transformed into a crop of new investment and construction.
Originally called Taylorsville, the City of Taylor was incorporated in 1882, growing over the years from a railway town into an agricultural market center. Taylor’s population increased steadily and stands at 17,600 today.
In 2023, Samsung reported more than 2,300 direct, indirect and induced operational jobs and another 18,000 construction-related jobs at the Taylor facility site.
Beyond Samsung’s commitments and the new jobs created are Samsung suppliers who wish to be close by. This enormous impact will transform Taylor from a bedroom community for Austin commuters to a municipal hub, bringing with it increased inbound and outbound traffic, families needing housing and a rapid growth of overall commercial activity.
Billions in additional investment and regional highway construction are planned or underway. It’s called “The Samsung Effect.”
Addressing Samsung’s commitment, Brandt Rydell, mayor of Taylor, said in an interview with Government Market News, “We’re very proud that Taylor was selected for this critical project and how important it is for America’s global standing.”
“Now Taylor is on the map for all this new development,” added Ben White, president and CEO of the Taylor Economic Development Corporation.
What follows is what he called, “a wide range of housing opportunities.”
An example of new housing is a 330-acre project that includes over 1,000 single family and multi-unit residences, planned by Dallas-based Megatel Austin Taylor LLC.However, such rapid expansion of the Taylor area economy does not come without change. Rydell said the population of Taylor could quickly double. Land development codes have been reviewed and updated to allow new housing and more density.
In addition to housing, the University of Texas at Austin will develop a new Taylor Center campus on an undeveloped 68-acre tract.
The site’s location is described by the University of Texas as “a natural fit” for training and research with semiconductor partners through initiatives like UT’s Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE). The Texas Legislature invested $552 million in TIE to assist the region in gaining even more CHIPS funding.
Samsung suppliers are starting to make their presence felt in Taylor, lured by new industrial park developments. The roads and infrastructure needed to support such commercial developments are normally the responsibility of the landowner, adding to project costs. However, this is not slowing down investment interest.
Developers are attempting to attract related technology investment as well, lured by the city’s direct incentive program. One recently approved for incentives offered by Taylor City Council is SoulBrain Holdings Co. Ltd., a South Korean supplier to Samsung.
SoulBrain will make an initial $175 million capital commitment, potentially leading to a second $400 million construction commitment at the 750-acre RCR Logistics Park, under development by Hempstead-based McAlister Assets LLC and RCR Rail Park Development Co.
BPP Projects LLC has also been approved for incentives that could result in a $1 billion data center on 52 acres on the east side of Taylor. Construction is scheduled to begin July 2025.
An 853,000-square-foot, eight-building industrial and flex-space park called Taylor 50 has been proposed by Texas residential and commercial land development and investment company, Transcend Group Holdings LLC. The project would include five acres of civic spaces around a detention pond.
iMarket Korea Inc., an industrial business-to-business e-commerce firm founded in 2000 by affiliates of Samsung, is expected to begin construction in December on Taylor Technology Park. The 212-acre park would be for its own operations and those of other Samsung suppliers.
Taylor is not finished building its business case to attract further growth, said White.
“We’re looking at other target sectors that we can bring in that can help grow our community.”
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