A sleepy Texan town is set to boom in popularity after Samsung invested $44 billion to build a new high-tech facility.
The tech giant is opening ‘the largest semiconductor manufacturing complex in America’ in Taylor, near Austin, bringing thousands of jobs and billions in investment to the area.
Taylor is currently a small, quiet city with just 16,000 residents, but that is set to change.
Mayor Brandt Rydell told KVUE: ‘From 2020 to 2030, Taylor will be one of the most rapidly growing cities in Texas, if not the nation.’
The average house price is just $298,000, but with the plant expected to open later this year, house prices could rise as more luxury properties are built.
Taylor is a small city with just 16,000 residents located 29 miles northeast of Austin
Samsung is investing $44billion with the new plant and surrounding infrastructure, including the ‘Samsung Highway’ to connect the plant to the town.
At a ribbon cutting ceremony for part of the highway on Friday, Governor Greg Abbott said: ‘Texas is more dedicated than ever to the future of chips and Samsung in our great state.
‘With more than $40 billion invested in Texas – and the creation of 1,000s of jobs – Samsung is the leading company in the future success of our great state.’
He added: ‘This highway will serve as the gateway to the largest foreign direct investment project in Texas history, and we’re proud that the chips that run our future will be ‘Made in Texas’ by Samsung for generations to come.’
With the new infrastructure and job opportunities, Taylor will be transformed into a technological hub.
Locals are hoping it will replicate the boom in Austin which saw property prices swell during the pandemic.
Samsung is investing $44billion with the new plant and surrounding infrastructure, including the ‘Samsung Highway’ to connect the plant to the town
With the new infrastructure and job opportunities, Taylor will be transformed into a technological hub
Austin was seen as the epitome of the Sunbelt’s real estate boom during the pandemic.
The region proved especially popular with well-paid tech workers, who were left unshackled from their San Francisco offices by lockdown.
Between March 2020 and May 2022, the median sales price of a home in Austin ballooned from $420,000 to $669,000.
But house prices in the town remain low, with only three properties currently listed over $1 million, according to property search site Redfin.
Homebuyers’ search data suggest prices may soon rise as many look to move from tech hubs across the US.
Samsung predicts the Taylor facility will create 2,000 jobs
Only three properties in town are currently listed over $1 million, according to property search site Redfin
Between March and May this year, over 1,300 people looked to move to Taylor from tech hub San Francisco, according to Redfin.
A further 1,215 were looking to move from Los Angeles and 868 from Dallas.
Samsung predicts the Taylor facility will create 2,000 jobs.
They said: ‘In 2023, construction activities at the Taylor site injected $11.6 billion into the local economy and supported a total of 8,897 direct and 9,264 indirect construction jobs.
‘In the same year, operations at the Taylor site pumped $115 million into the region while supporting 2,317 jobs in the area.
‘These incentives will boost city and county funds, producing long-term benefits for the community and positive implications for Taylor’s overall development.’