New campus could take city, county, state money

An Apple official today answered questions in front of Austin City Council in an attempt to secure funding for its expanded presence in the city. The Council is offering to pay $8.6 million in incentives over 10 years if Apple meets job and investment targets. Apple may also receive $21 million from the state-level Texas Enterprise Fund, and still more cash from Travis County, although county officials are believed to be waiting until after a City Council vote to say what it might contribute.

Apple has proposed spending $304 million on its expansion, which could create 3,600 new jobs and an Americas Operations Center, which would be located at the corner of West Parmer and Delcour in the northwest. The new campus would consume 38 acres and house 1 million square feet of office space. Dave Porter, the senior VP for economic development at the Austin Chamber of Commerce, today told City Council that Apple's offer was a "huge" deal. "We consider it to be one of the deals of the decade," he commented.

At the same time, Porter warned the Council that Apple hadn't formally decided on Austin and had another city under consideration as well. The Austin American-Statesman suggests that the alternative may be Phoenix, and reports that Apple may only decide after final incentives are offered by city, county, and state.

by MacNN Staff