On the heels of the Pflugerville City Council approving a performance agreement between the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation Board of Directors and Amazon, the online retail giant has officially confirmed what many people have suspected for months: a new fulfillment center is coming to Pecan Street in Pflugerville.
“We are proud that Amazon has chosen Pflugerville for a distribution center increasing employment opportunities, while contributing $250 million to the tax base and set the stage for continued growth along the Pecan Street and SH 130 corridor,” Mayor Victor Gonzales said. “The Pflugerville Community Development Corporation has provided support to both Amazon and the City of Pflugerville with the necessary intersection improvements at FM 685 and Pecan Street to keep everyone moving. This managed growth is an investment into our city and we welcome Amazon to our community.”
The PCDC is funding up to $3.8-million for transportation upgrades at FM 685 and Pecan Street. In return, the newly approved agreement requires Amazon to commit to a $250-million capital investment in a facility, no smaller than 820,000-square-feet. Along with the facility, the agreement also requires the crestion of 1000 new full-time positions, each paying a minimum of $15 per hour.
Amazon’s agreement with Pflugerville is for a ten-year term.
“Prior to this project, the 94 acres where Amazon is locating were not in the City limits and provided no tax base,” PCDC Executive Director Amy Madison said. “We are entering into a binding agreement to provide additional infrastructure improvements benefitting all businesses and residents in exchange for Amazon’s commitment to creating jobs and providing a substantial annual tax base for the City.”
The PCDC’s funding of the transportation upgrades will come from the half-cent sales tax that has been set aside for economic development, which with city says will prevent a direct impact to local property taxes and the one-cent sales tax collected by the City, officials say.
Already during the early construction phase, the project has generated sales tax and permitting fees that have offset the significant declines from other revenue sources due to the pandemic. According to Madison, the early phase has also contributed to Pflugerville’s current 15.7% year-over-year growth in overall sales tax.
The FM 685 and Pecan Street improvements will include the construction of a crossover, displaced left-turn lane — said to be the first of its kind in Pflugerviller.
The construction is expected to be completed by July 2021. Amazon is required to begin operations on or before December 31, 2022.
