The Texas Enterprise Zone Program is an economic development tool for local communities to partner with the State of Texas to promote job creation and capital investment. A State Enterprise Zone is any census tract block group that has a 20% or higher poverty rate, as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau during each decennial census.
State law requires a municipality or county to nominate a project of a qualified business for designation as an Enterprise Project to participate in the Enterprise Zone Program. Legislation limits allocations to the state and local communities per biennium; the City is limited to a maximum of 9 project designations. Chapter 2303 of the Texas Government Code grants municipalities the authority to nominate projects located within their extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
Enterprise Projects are eligible to apply for state sales and use tax refunds on qualified expenditures. The level and amount of a refund is based on the capital investment and jobs created or retained at the qualified business site. Depending on the investment amount, the refund to the company is between $2,500 and $7,500 per job.
City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2015-515 authorizing the City to nominate projects for this state-funded incentive. The City is nominating Macquarie Holdings (U.S.A.) Inc. as its first TEZ project in the FY22 – FY23 biennium with a planned capital investment of $29 million, retention of 400 jobs, and creation of 100 jobs. The amount of investment for this project will produce a maximum reimbursement of $2,500 for up to 500 jobs or $1,250,000 over a five-year term, at an annual rate not to exceed $250,000. The project site is not located within a Texas Enterprise Zone and therefore 35% of new jobs must be filled by residents of an enterprise zone or individuals who are economically disadvantaged. This project was presented to the Economic Development Committee on October 19, 2022.
Macquarie Holdings (U.S.A.) Inc. is a subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited, an Australian multinational financial services holding company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets and is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager, with more than $737 billion in assets under management. The office located at 500 Dallas St. focuses on supporting and trading in natural gas, oil, and electricity markets.
Macquarie Holdings (U.S.A.) Inc. plans to invest $29M over the next three years, for interior build out and renovation of their floors in One Allen Center including furniture, fixtures, and other equipment necessary to support their business operations.
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Andy F. Icken, Chief Development Officer