TEXpansion
West Texas — As Texas grows by thousands of new residents each week, businesses and industries are expanding their operations and building new facilities throughout the state. Here is a sampling of recently announced expansions in West Texas.
- Lubbock — Texas Tech University is partnering with Sandia National Laboratories and The National Institute for Renewable Energy to build and operate a new wind energy testing facility at Reese Technology Center. Researchers will study rotor technologies and how turbines interact with each other. The facility is expected to be operational in spring 2012.
- Midland — Fasken Oil and Ranch Ltd. has started construction of its new 60,000-square-foot corporate headquarters. The facility will house 150 current employees and is located within the company’s C Ranch at Holiday Hill Road and Sherwood Drive. It is Midland’s first major office project since the 1980s.
- Odessa — Parks Methodist Retirement Village is expanding by building a single-story assisted-living building and independent living apartment building. The $25 million project includes 70 assisted-living units, 80 independent-living apartments and 30 memory-care units. The existing retirement facility has 23 assisted living units, 55 independent living homes and 90 skilled nursing beds. It is expected to bring 100 jobs to Odessa.
- Glasscock
County — Crosstex Energy and Apache Corporation will invest a total of $85 million in a new cryogenic natural gas processing facility with a capacity of 50 MMcf per day. It is expected to be operational in mid 2012. The project will generate 100 temporary construction jobs and five permanent jobs. Crosstex has applied for a Chapter 313 property tax value limitation with the Comptroller’s office. Crosstex is seeking a $30 million valuation limit on a $65 million investment located within Glasscock County ISD .
For more information, visit the Office of the Governor Economic Development and Tourism Division or Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center. TR
KeepingTexasFirst.org Tracks Federal Environmental Regulatory Activity
During the 2009 and 2011 legislative sessions, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts was given responsibility for providing policy and technical assistance to Texas communities, businesses and landowners to work within federal laws protecting endangered species in a manner consistent with the state’s economic development and fiscal stability.
To that end, Comptroller Susan Combs’ office has launched a website at KeepingTexasFirst.org to inform Texans about federal action on endangered species, air and water.
KeepingTexasFirst.org is the only state website that provides a one-stop spot for information on the more than 100 species in Texas currently proposed for new or modified listing under the Endangered Species Act, including comment periods, recent federal actions and explanations of the listing process. The site also focuses on air and water regulatory actions that impact jobs, energy production and economic development in Texas. TR