The Austin City Council has placed a sizable bet on the future of the city's development by purchasing the Tokyo Electron headquarters for a cool $87 million. The substantial property, situated on Grove Blvd., spans 107 acres and includes two office buildings, which Tokyo Electron will lease back for a year while it relocates to its new digs at RiverSouth Austin. As reported by the City of Austin's official website, this land deal is part of a much larger blueprint aimed at redeveloping the space with a keen eye toward mixed-use affordability and public transit accessibility.
The city is shelling out a hefty sum with a dual-purpose strategy in mind. Approximately $27 million is coming from the Project Connect Anti-Displacement Funds, a pool of money earmarked specifically for investments in neighborhoods on the brink of gentrification, hoping to keep them accessible to all income brackets. The rest of the bill, $60 million, will be footed by bonds, those that are backed by property tax revenue. "This was a rare, generational opportunity to purchase a huge swath of mostly undeveloped land centrally located in Austin," Veronica Briseño, assistant city manager told the City of Austin's news release.
Mayor Kirk Watson was unabashed in his support for the purchase, heralding it as a critical move in line with Austin’s Strategic Housing Blueprint, which aims for a whopping 135,000 new housing units by 2028. This includes both market rate and subsidized affordable housing options. Watson's vision for the property is ambitious, envisioning a dense neighborhood built around the concept of transit-oriented development and the potential to house at least 1,100 units.
Moreover, the acquisition will lend the city 66 acres of untouched land adjacent to the Austin Energy Control Center as a bonus. When you throw this in with the Austin Housing Finance Corporation's already-owned 18-acre slice at the corner of Grove and Riverside, you’re looking at a significant chance for more affordable homes. “This is the first major step in a project that has the potential to be transformational,” Council Member José Velásquez said, according to the City of Austin. Velásquez has his sights set on not just affordable housing, but deeply affordable housing in his district.
Tokyo Electron, for its part, has been a fixture in Austin for three decades, with Rick Turner, the Executive Vice President, stating, "Austin has innovative and diverse talent and a thriving technological community. We look forward to continuing to drive innovation in this increasingly global city and region not just through our work, but through our commitment and involvement with the community."
