AUSTIN, TEXAS – The Austin City Council approved the purchase of the 107-acre Tokyo Electron (TEL) campus and surrounding property located at 2400 Grove Blvd. in southeast Austin. This large parcel of land includes two existing buildings, which will be leased back for one year to Tokyo Electron while the company completes its relocation to RiverSouth Austin on South First Street. Future redevelopment of the site will include extensive planning, feasibility assessments, and community engagement for area needs before any plans are solidified. The Mayor and Council members approved the purchase at their regular meeting on Thursday.

 Payment of the purchase price of $87 million includes approximately $27 million in Project Connect Anti-Displacement Funds. This funding prioritizes investments in areas near transit lines that are vulnerable to displacement, helping ensure these areas remain affordable. The acquisition will enable the City of Austin’s Housing Department to develop additional income-restricted units close to transit and other community amenities promoted by Project Connect investments. The remaining $60 million will be funded through bonds backed by property tax revenue.

“This was a rare, generational opportunity to purchase a huge swath of mostly undeveloped land centrally located in Austin,” Assistant City Manager Veronica Briseño said. “In addition to much-needed administrative offices for critical City services, we have the chance to create not just affordable housing, but an entire community with space for commercial and cultural endeavors, all with exceptional access to public transit.”

 Mayor Kirk Watson praised the move as an important step in Austin’s 2017 Strategic Housing Blueprint, which sets ambitious goals of creating 135,000 housing units by 2028, including 75,000 market rate units and 60,000 affordable units that require differing levels of public subsidy.

 “The vision is for a dense, transit-oriented neighborhood that could conservatively accommodate 1,100 living units,” Watson said. “The potential here is great.”

 Plans for the property include using two of the existing buildings, totaling some 190,000 square feet and situated on more than 41 acres, for a new Combined Transportation and Emergency Communication Center (CTECC), along with associated administrative facilities. This initiative addresses a pressing need in the community for enhanced emergency response and communication capabilities.

 The City will also gain approximately 66 undeveloped acres with this purchase located adjacent to the Austin Energy Control Center located at 2500 Montopolis Drive. This land, combined with the current 18-plus acres at the southeast corner of Grove and Riverside already held by the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, will provide substantial opportunities for additional affordable housing.

 This property's strategic location near the proposed Austin Light Rail corridor amplifies its potential, enhancing connectivity and aligning with the City's Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) goals. Creating affordable housing opportunities along the corridor would deliver substantial future ridership for the Project Connect transit services.

 “This is the first major step in a project that has the potential to be transformational,” District 3 Council Member José Velásquez said. “One of my goals is to provide more affordable housing and deeply affordable housing to District 3. The opportunity to do so in this location, built intentionally and strategically with public transit access, is beyond exciting.”

 Tokyo Electron’s North American headquarters have been in Austin for 30 years and will continue to call Austin home.

 “Austin has innovative and diverse talent and a thriving technological community," Rick Turner, Executive Vice President, CFO & GM Administration at Tokyo Electron U.S. Holdings, said. "For 30 years, we have developed semiconductor technology that is shaping the future right here in Austin. 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.”