TAYLOR, Texas — About 30 miles northeast of Austin in Williamson County sits Taylor, Texas, founded in 1876, home to some old-school BBQ spots and local businesses that have been there for decades.
The small town is going to get a lot bigger. The massive Samsung facility under construction about four miles outside of downtown, just off of FM 973, opens next year. It is expected to have chips rolling off the line by the end of 2024.
Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell said Samsung is investing $17 billion into the community. The facility will bring 2,000 jobs.
“We certainly anticipate from 2020 to 2030, Taylor will be one of the most rapidly growing cities in Texas, if not the nation, I would anticipate. Having an economic project out here on a scale that few have seen in the world,” Rydell said.
David Mucha has owned Ed’s Place – named after his dad and known for its burgers – since 1983. He said he is excited for Samsung to come to Taylor.
“The growth is coming, and I look forward to it," Mucha said. "And it’s probably going to help our business out, which I am looking forward it. Sell more hamburgers.”
Taylor resident John O’Neil lives across the street from the Samsung site. While he is excited, he said he does have concerns.
“We don’t have a lot of water in this area, and certainly water is going to be a be concern. I hope Taylor is ready for this," O'Neil said.
He is also worried about higher property taxes and the traffic.
“Especially when school starts, with the high school and Samsung, the new traffic. I don’t believe these roads, even expanded, are going to support the traffic we have or going to have in Taylor," O'Neil said.
Mayor Rydell said the city does face challenges.
“We have been kind of a small country town to this point. Now we are getting some big city pressures on us. We don’t have those big cities revenues, we are realizing right now," he said.
But Rydell said that will come. Even before Samsung started construction, the city had been working on a comprehensive plan to prepare for the expected growth.
“We are not caught flat-footed of development that hits us, and think, 'What do we do now?'" he said.
Rydell said when it comes to water, Samsung will use a third-party provider.
“They are not using our municipal water [for] their industrial processes there at the plant," he said.
The mayor said the City is expanding its wastewater treatment plant and working closely with the Brazos River Authority, the city’s water supplier.
Road improvements are also being made. Rydell said the City is working with the county and state.
“We have 973, which runs by our high school, the state and county have been working on improvements out there, certainly new signalization control traffic. The county has some reworking around the Samsung plant, what is termed the 'Samsung Highway,' which is going to come into the south of the facility," Rydell said.
The first part of the new Samsung Highway is already complete.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.