Apple has just announced plans to build a new $1 billion campus in Austin. It is also going to open two smaller sites in Seattle, San Diego, and Culver City, California–as well as has plans to expand in other cities too, including Pittsburgh; New York; Boston; Boulder, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon.
According to the company’s press release, the new site in Texas will be 133 acres and will provide as many as 15,000 new jobs. This is part of the company’s pledge to expand domestically. Apple had given itself the goal of adding 20,000 new jobs in the U.S. by 2023.
Of course, Apple got a sweet deal out of the new campus, too. Axios reports that the state of Texas gave the computing giant a $25 million grant, along with “what’s likely to be tens of millions of dollars in local property tax abatements.” That’s not too much compared to the packages Virginia and New York gave Amazon in order to be the host cities for its new headquarters.
We’ll see how Austin locals react to this news. The city, like most other U.S. metropolises, is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis where it’s becoming harder for working class people to find adequate places to live. With a new billion-dollar campus comes the likelihood that housing will skyrocket more.
Apple says its new Austin campus will be less than a mile from the offices it already has there. This expansion will make it the largest private company operating in the Texas city.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
