Project could be 'transformational' for small city northeast of Austin, mayor says
The land was purchased at 12429 Kimbro West Road, south of U.S. 290 (seen at bottom left in this this screen capture) and about 3 miles east of downtown Manor.
Google Maps screen capture
Dallas Business Journal
By Justin Sayers and Cody Baird – Dallas Business Journal
A limited liability company tied to a multibillion-dollar Chinese industrial laser business has purchased 262 acres in Manor, where it could build a large manufacturing facility that employs hundreds.
Speculation about who scooped up the land has been rampant since Austin-based Gold Tier Real Estate LLC earlier this month announced the sale of the property at 12429 West Kimbro Road in a LinkedIn post. In the post, Gold Tier said it represented the seller and only described the buyer as a manufacturer in the supply chain for both Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Tesla Inc.
The deal closed March 30, according to Travis County property records. The buyer was a company called Suntrend Investment LLC, which deed records connect to Silicon Valley-based Hans Laser Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Han's Laser Technology Group Co. Ltd. The company is a manufacturer of laser cutting and laser welding machinery with a market capitalization on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange of about $4.6 billion, based on the April 13 exchange rate.
Public officials on April 13 confirmed the involvement of Han's, adding that the company has discussed big plans for the site, starting with a 400,000-square-foot building. Hundreds of thousands more square feet of industrial space could be added over time, along with mixed-use space and room for other companies. The site could initially support hundreds of jobs and eventually eclipse 1,000.
Manor Mayor Christopher Harvey cautioned that some aspects of the project are not finalized but said that everything will be announced soon. Scott Jones, the city's economic development director, said Han's will likely work with the city to obtain water and wastewater services, with electric and natural gas coming from other sources. The site is located in Manor's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
"This is going to be an anchor for everything we're trying to do for the city out east," Harvey said, adding that the development will push more utility infrastructure to that side of the city. "It kind of sets that border and allows us to build in from that direction. I'm very excited about this opportunity and what this will mean for us."
The sellers of the land were Joseph and Anna Drayer. Their broker, Gold Tier co-founder Colin Tierney, said Han's had considered existing industrial developments on the east side of the Austin metro but that executives decided they needed a larger site to accommodate their plans.
"We were really excited to work on that," said Tierney, who declined to provide the sale price.