Brazos County commission approves offering property tax breaks to land a $10 billion dollar, 1,800 employee manufacturing plant

This podcast contains comments from the July 9, 2024 Brazos County commission meeting.

Brazos County commissioners and Bryan city council members unanimously approve offering property tax breaks to a prospective $10 billion dollar, 1,800 employee manufacturing plant that would be built on the Texas A&M system RELLIS campus.

Speaking at Tuesday's (July 9) county commission and city council meetings was system chancellor John Sharp. 

He told the Bryan council that the company, identified only as Delaware based "America’s Foundry Bryan LLC", is considering 16 locations.

Sharp told council members and county commission members that this project would double the taxable valuation of the city of Bryan.

Original story July 7, 2024:

More steps are being taken to attract a $10 billion dollar, 1,800 employee manufacturing plant to the Texas A&M system's RELLIS campus.

The system's board of regents approved during a special meeting on Wednesday (July 3), authorization for administrators to "negotiate and execute a development agreement, ground lease, and other related agreements regarding a manufacturing facility" that remains unidentified.

Chancellor John Sharp told reporters after the regents meeting that he remains under a non-disclosure agreement.Before the regents meeting, Bryan mayor Bobby Gutierrez said on WTAW's The Infomaniacs that he is also bound by the non-disclosure agreement. 

But he said Bryan was a finalist for something that could be built anywhere in the world.Friday afternoon (July 5), the city of Bryan and Brazos County released the agenda for the July 9th meetings of the city council and county commission. 

Both agendas includes a proposed ten year tax abatement agreement for what was described as a "high technology manufacturing plant".

Click HERE to read and download the proposed tax abatement agreement with the Bryan city council.

Click HERE to read and download the proposed tax abatement agreement with the Brazos County commission.

The agreement proposes the applicant would receive from both Bryan and Brazos County, an 80 percent break on property taxes in the first five years and a 50 percent abatement in the sixth through tenth years.

Background information from the city of Bryan says even with the tax abatement, the city estimates collecting more than $164 million dollars in property tax revenue during the ten year period.

The background information also says during the tax abatement period, the applicant would give the city five percent of what is being abated towards "the enhancement of the quality of life of Bryan citizens" that includes but are not limited "to infrastructure or programs for parks, recreation and exercise; libraries; aesthetic enhancements to public spaces; public education; senior citizen services; youth services; and healthy lifestyles."

Click HERE to read and download additional information from the city of Bryan about the proposed tax abatement agreement.

Brazos County's agenda did not provide additional information.

Click below to hear comments from John Sharp and Bobby Gutierrez.

Listen to "More steps are taken to attract a $10 billion dollar, 1800 employee manufacturing plant to the RELLIS campus" on Spreaker.