LANCASTER—The City of Lancaster approved several development agreements at its city council meeting earlier this month.
Both approved resolutions were greenlighting Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreements with NTT Global Centers Americas, Inc. and Bridor USA, Inc.
NTT Global Centers Americas, Inc. provides data centers worldwide. This will be the second facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the first south of Interstate 30.
The plan is to build at least 225,000 square feet of data center located on 108.652 acres on the northwest corner of Sunrise Road and Belt Line Road.
Staff notes indicated this development project represented a taxable value of $110 million, subject to market conditions.
NTT also has plans to build additional buildings on the site that will increase the value of the real and business personal property located there to $25 million.
Suppose the developer’s six obligations are met, including their occupying the building by January 1, 2028, employing at least 27 employees making no less than $80,000 annually, and giving an annual $50,000 worth of donations to the city for community engagement. In that case, the city’s incentives will be made available.
These incentives include a combined real and business personal property tax rebate not to exceed 10 years, and the developer could be eligible for advanced program payments. The city will also possibly reimburse 50% of the city’s one percent sales tax provided the annual sales tax collection exceeds $89,000 during the construction phase and is sourced back to the city. There will also be the possibility of enhanced rebates for sourcing sales tax on equipment upgrades.
District 3 Marco Mejia said he believed this was an excellent opportunity for Lancaster and for Global Data Centers “on this side of town. I think this is exactly where Lancaster needs to be and I think [is] the future of Lancaster.”
The second resolution agreement with Bridor USA, Inc. involves a company founded in 1984 in Montreal, Canada. Bridor is a French-Canadian bakery brand specializing in high-quality bread and baked goods for restaurants/cafes, hotels, and grocery stores worldwide. Staff notes indicated the company produces frozen baked goods that are said to maintain an artisanal quality on a mass production scale. The company would like to build the first phase of its project in Lancaster and possibly additional phases in the future, but the latter two phases are not guaranteed, according to staff notes.
Construction for the first phase is to be completed no later than January 1, 2030 on a 50 acre site at 2101 East Belt Line Road. The facility will include a minimum of 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 111 new jobs, paying $29 hourly, with an overall expenditure of $110 million.
The two additional phases will increase the numbers to a minimum of 300,000 square feet with phase two and 450,000 square feet with the completion of phase three. If all three phases are realized, this will amount to a $410 million investment in the project overall. The expectation for hiring will, at that point, be 171 employees, all paid the median wage of $29 hourly. The developer must also agree to occupy the facility by January 1, 2030. If Phases 2 and 3 are implemented, they must be executed no later than December 31, 2039.
