The Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP) announced Best Buy, a leading provider of technology products, services and solutions, has selected San Marcos, Texas as the location of an e-commerce sales operation. This is the company’s first and only Texas facility of its kind, which expects to hire 25 employees for sales positions in the first year, with plans to expand its employment opportunities in the following years.
“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement to bring this e-commerce sales operation to the City of San Marcos and Hays County,” said Best Buy spokesman Shane Kitzman. “Not only will it provide local jobs, but this partnership will also benefit the City, County and Best Buy.”
The 20,000 square-foot building, which is located at 900 Bugg Lane, is a pre-existing building that has been vacant since Fall 2014. After the 2015 Memorial Day flood, San Marcos-based Grande Communications occupied the site for a brief time due to flood damage to their existing facility. As a result of Grande’s temporary location, the building was upgraded with state-of-the art infrastructure that met the needs of Best Buy. This outfitting provided the site with an additional competitive advantage. Grande moved back into its fully restored headquarters at the north entrance of the city in January 2016 and never experienced any down time during the flood or transition between buildings.
Best Buy is scheduled to begin operations in October 2016.
“We are delighted to welcome Best Buy as San Marcos’ newest corporate citizen,” said Daniel Guerrero, Mayor of the City of San Marcos. “A previously vacant 20,000 square-foot building will now be a major revenue source for the City, which can be put towards serving the residents of San Marcos. This is a big win and I am excited at the possibilities that will be open to our community with these good jobs and revenue.”
“Hays County has invested significantly in new and improved roadways, which provide better safety and mobility, and have encouraged companies to take a closer look at us for their relocation site,” said Hays County Commission Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, Precinct 1. “It’s these diligent economic development efforts and cohesive collaboration from the community that have made a difference in our job creation efforts. We are honored to be selected by this well-known brand name and look forward to the benefits it will bring to our existing businesses as well.”
The project came directly to GSMP staff from the company’s site selection consultant in early March 2016. GSMP supported the process through site tours and assisting with the incentive process. Key factors to the success of the project were the central location, workforce availability and the presence of Texas State University, incentive opportunities, and an available turnkey facility.
“Having a brand-name, Fortune 500 company, select the City of San Marcos and Hays County for its sole e-commerce sales operation in Texas speaks loudly to the assets of the community,” said Adriana Cruz, President of the Greater San Marcos Partnership. “The Best Buy e-commerce sales operation will have a tremendous economic impact on San Marcos and Hays County, not only through primary jobs but also as a significant sales tax generator. We appreciate the investment that Best Buy is making in our community and look forward to a long-lasting relationship with the company. I commend the City of San Marcos and Hays County for their work to secure this opportunity for our residents.”
Today, the City of San Marcos and Hays County voted in favor of entering into performance-based Chapter 380/381 Agreements with Best Buy that include a ten-year sales tax rebate at 75 percent with two ten-year automatic renewals upon the meeting of the terms of the agreement and a ten-year personal property tax rebate at 50 percent. The economic impact of the deal is an expected $43 million and $14.4 million to the City of San Marcos and Hays County, respectively, at the expiration of the 30-year agreement.
Best Buy is the latest employer to expand its footprint in the Greater San Marcos region. Since its formation in October 2010, the GSMP staff has worked 325 projects or requests for information (RFI) resulting in 25 announcements, 2,402 jobs announced and more than $246 million in capital investment.
About the Greater San Marcos Partnership
The Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP) is the 501c6 regional economic development organization serving the city of San Marcos, and Hays and Caldwell Counties focused on positioning the region for a wider diversity of quality jobs for all with higher wages. The GSMP mission is to promote sustainable, responsible and comprehensive economic development in the greater San Marcos region by implementing a five-year economic development strategic plan. Visit greatersanmarcostx.com for more information.