HUTTO – After months of speculation, officials Thursday confirmed Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company Blue Origin is another step closer to landing in Hutto after county commissioners approved a tax-incentive agreement for the project.
If Blue Origin Enterprises LP accepts the deal, the aerospace company will build 1.3 million square feet of industrial space in Hutto for research, development, inspection, testing and manufacturing related to the aeronautics and defense industry.
The company is expected to invest $674 million in the development, officials said.
The area has seen a growing number of companies focused on space exploration, including SpaceX and its Starlink satellites in Bastrop, Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park and Melangen Labs in Taylor.
While the ink may not yet be dry on the Blue Origin deal, local leaders are almost giddy with anticipation.
“That’s one of the largest economic investments in our county, ever. And it is an American company with American jobs,” said County Judge Steven Snell.
The Williamson County Commissioners Court Aug. 20 approved a Chapter 381 agreement with the company, which includes tax incentives. Blue Origin is owned by Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon.
Commissioners said the agreement mirrors the incentives approved by the City Council and the Economic Development Corp. earlier this month.
So far, neither the county nor Hutto officials have revealed the amount of the incentives. They have also not disclosed where the space complex will be built.
Mayor Mike Snyder said on Aug. 21 that local officials have not yet been given the go-ahead to release those details.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles said only that it would be an infill project in Hutto on land that has good access to U.S. 79, existing buildings and room to build more facilities.
The facility will ramp up to about 2,000 full-time jobs in the next 10 years. The average salary is estimated at $88,000.
According to Boles, that will make the company the largest employer in Hutto.
Blue Origin has also committed to investing in local education, the commissioners said, including workforce partnerships with Texas State Technical College and Temple College to expand training opportunities and develop a pipeline of skilled workers.
“Paid internships for our high school kids ... investing in our teachers, working with Hutto (Independent School District) regarding the (career and technical education) program ... supporting teachers and supporting the school. Not only is it good jobs but they’re looking at being good community members,” Boles said.
Snell, a former educator and school district superintendent, said the investment in local education will be a win for the county.
“We want them to come, obviously, and we know they’re going to be a great community partner,” Snell said.
Blue Origin is a competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX project. Established by Bezos in 2000, it currently has facilities in Kent, Washington; Huntsville, Alabama; and Van Horn. The Chapter 381 agreement signed by the county lists the developers as Blue Origin Manufacturing LLC, Velocis Hutto Innovation Phase I LP and Velocis Hutto Innovation JV LP.
Williamson County is expected to become even more of a hub for space-related companies thanks to the development of a spaceport in Cedar Park.
The Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp. was launched just over a year ago with the approval of county commissioners.
Firefly, which developed the Blue Ghost lander that successfully touched down on the near side of the moon, is behind the $78 million, four-building facility at the spaceport in Cedar Park.
The sixth spaceport development corporation established by local governments in Texas, the Williamson County spaceport project in conjunction with Cedar Park is expected to add to the existing draw of being near other aerospace and defense contractors.
