San Marcos City Council To Consider Economic Development Incentive Agreement With Katerra, Inc.

Katerra is a “technology-driven offsite construction company,” based in Menlo Park, California. The company proposes the construction of…

By, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

On Tuesday, October 16, the San Marcos City Council will consider the approval of an economic development incentive agreement with Katerra, Inc., to locate an automated building component manufacturing and distribution facility along state highway 80.

The agreement will provide incentives over a ten-year period in the form of annual refunds of a portion of new property taxes generated from the facility and will waive certain development standards. The item was added to the agenda after the original posting on Tuesday, October 9.

According to the agreement, the company will be able to apply for their first grant payment, which will be paid by the city in the same year, 2022.

Katerra has asked the city to waive two development standards in the San Marcos development code for the facility.

• The requirements of Section 3.6.2.1, Table 3.1, regarding block perimeters and dead-end street lengths in EC, HC, HI and LI zoning districts are waived.
• The requirements of Section 4.3.5.3 regarding blank wall area are waived to allow typical industrial construction using concrete tilt wall as primary building material, as provided in Section 4.3.5.17 (d)(1)(a).

Katerra is a “technology-driven offsite construction company,” based in Menlo Park, California. The company proposes the construction of an approximately 600,000 square foot facility to manufacture a wide range of building components and materials, including wall panels, floor systems, roof truss assemblies, windows, cabinets and finishes.

Katerra proposes to create at least 542 full-time jobs and make a capital investment of at least $109,000,000, according to the city council’s agenda packet.

Monday, October 15, Mayor John Thomaides of San Marcos issued a proclamation naming October 2018 Manufacturing Month in the City of San Marcos. The proclamation recognized the Greater San Marcos Partnership’s latest economic development efforts to bring new businesses and jobs to the Greater San Marcos area.

In other news, Hays County Commissioners proclaimed October 2018 Manufacturing Month throughout Hays County during their meeting Tuesday morning.