Samsung's Texas investment to transform Taylor into chipmaking hub - Austin Business Journal (bizjournals.com) "The impact of the Samsung factory in Taylor, about 40 miles northeast of Austin, is well-documented: thousands of jobs, billions of dollars of capital investment and transformation of the small city of 17,000 people that once was the economic engine of Williamson County north of Austin. Taylor is primed to regain that title. The rewards got even bigger this week, when the federal government committed to provide $6.4 billion in grants to Samsung, widening the company's investment to $45 billion in Central Texas and making it one of the largest economic development projects in U.S. history. The result will be the establishment of one of the most advanced and complete semiconductor facilities in the world, with multiple fabrication lines, a research-and-development facility, a packaging facility and more."

Austin real estate news: What's up with downtown? - Austin Business Journal (bizjournals.com) "Consider this statistic from real estate firm Aquila Commercial LLC: There are 10 already-built towers downtown with at least 100,000 square feet of direct vacant office space — and three of the biggest and newest office blocks are completely empty despite being ready for tenants for many months. On top of that, some huge new office towers are in the works and will be courting prospective tenants soon, and there's no shortage of less expensive office space outside of downtown."

Austin real estate news: What's up with downtown? - Austin Business Journal (bizjournals.com) "The Trammell Crow-developed tower has almost 800,000 square feet of office space sitting dark on Google's dime. According to commercial real estate firm Avison Young, rental rates in Austin's Central Business District at year-end 2019 averaged $67.39 per square foot for trophy properties. Assuming Google signed a lease at that rate, the company could be on the hook for about $145,000 per day or $53.2 million per year. It's apparently a cost that can be stomached by a company that reported $74 billion in net income last year."

Home Run Dugout adding another batting bay building - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com) "Since opening, business has been so good that founders Nick Hermandorfer and Tyler Bambrick are adding another 10 indoor “batting bays” in a new 9,242-square-foot building on the north side of the property. Construction on the $3 million expansion started in early April with a goal to open this summer, Home Run Dugout said."

Dang! These folks are starting the party EARLY!