Texas high-speed rail project gets nearly $64M grant

Posted on by Michael Randle

Plans for a high-speed rail line connecting Houston and Dallas are moving along after the project received a nearly $64 million grant.

With an estimated cost of $30 billion, the proposed 240-mile high-speed rail line would travel between the two cities in 90 minutes.

The $63.9 million grant awarded to Amtrak last month is part of a $153 million funding rollout from the U.S. Department of Transportation for passenger rail projects around the country that was announced back in July.The Houston-to-Dallas high-speed rail line has been in the works for years. The Houston Chronicle reports Texas Central Railway led the effort at first by buying land throughout the planned corridor. The newspaper reports the proposed route has 30% of the land needed for the project secured. San Antonio Business Journal

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Report: Carolina Core needs 200,000 housing units over next 5 years to overcome supply shortage

Posted on by Michael Randle

At the Carolina Core Housing Summit at High Point University, North Carolina Realtors presented to local policymakers, employers and community leaders a finding that was not a surprise to many — that the region needs more housing, and more housing that is affordable.

The Summit was held to present the findings of an extensive housing study that N.C. Realtors, the Piedmont Triad Regional Partnership, and 11 local Realtor associations conducted along with Bowen National Research, with the goal of finding recommendations to improve housing access across North Carolina.Mike Barr, CEO of the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association, told Triad Business Journal in February that the study aimed to prepare the region for the influx of employees that the area will see due to Boom Supersonic, Toyota and other incoming economic development opportunities. Triad Business Journal

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This Memphis hotel ranks among the best in the South, according to Condé Nast Traveler

Posted on by Michael Randle

A major travel magazine has recognized a Downtown Memphis hotel as one of the best hotels in the South.

Condé Nast Traveler named Central Station Memphis as the South’s second-ranked hotel in its 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards.

The eight-story hotel is a Curio Collection by Hilton property with 123 rooms. The luxury boutique hotel is housed within a former train station and located Downtown at 545 S. Main St.

Central Station received a score of 98.74 from Condé Nast Traveler readers. The honored hotels are scheduled to be recognized in the November issue of the magazine. Memphis Business Journal

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Another industrial park is rising near Taylor, Texas and it’s not just aimed at Samsung suppliers.

Posted on by Michael Randle

Another industrial park is headed to Taylor, with the aim of not only catering to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. suppliers but also to homegrown businesses intent on taking advantage of the city’s boom.

SGRE Capital GP LP plans to start work this month on a 51,000-square-foot, office-warehouse shell building at 1901 Industrial Drive, according to a Sept. 23 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The $6.5 million project is expected to wrap up in August.

It’s the first building of what’s being called the Taylor Industrial Park, which encompasses roughly 20 acres less than five miles from the Samsung plant. The speculative building could be joined by at least four smaller buildings or two larger ones in future phrases totaling roughly 200,000 square feet, according to a brochure for the property.

Will Sikora, a senior associate with Aquila Commercial LLC, said developers initially bought the parcel with the idea that it would be a service center for Samsung customers. But competition in that space has skyrocketed ever since. Austin Business Journal

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These are the highest-paying jobs in Dallas-Fort Worth

Posted on by Michael Randle

Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the country’s strongest job markets.

DFW added nearly 68,000 jobs from July 2023 to July 2024, according to the latest federal and state estimates — and its 4.1% unemployment rate was lower than the United States average of 4.5% and Texas’ 4.4% rate.Good-paying jobs are what attract so many people to the Metroplex and keep them here. They help explain why a landlocked region with no ocean, no mountains and summer temperatures regularly in the triple digits remains one of the hottest places in the country for population growth. And all of the wealth created by those jobs fuels home-buying, spending at grocery stores and restaurants and many types of consumer purchases. Dallas Business Journal

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CyrusOne plans $200 million data center in north Fort Worth

Posted on by Michael Randle

Dallas-based CyrusOne LLC is planning a $200 million data center in north Fort Worth, according to new state filings.

The data center is being planned on Asphalt Drive in far north Fort Worth, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing. The location is in a fast-growing portion of Fort Worth, and 1.7 miles away from where Miami-based homebuilder Lennar is planning more than 1,000 homes.

The building will be a single-story data center with a two-story office component, totaling about 190,400 square feet, according to the filing. TDLR filings are often preliminary and subject to change, although they show insights into a company’s development plans. Construction is estimated to begin Oct. 22 and finish October 2026. Dallas Business Journal

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Parts maker ILJIN to invest $100 million in Auburn, Alabama, operation, creating 160 jobs

Posted on by Michael Randle

Gov. Kay Ivey announced that ILJIN, a leading automotive and industrial bearings and chassis manufacturer, is investing nearly $100 million in a new operation in Auburn.

The company’s new facility will employ around 160 people and will allow ILJIN to expand into the aluminum forging market.

“ILJIN’s decision to locate its next facility in Auburn is great news for Alabama,” Ivey said. “Alabama is already the fifth-largest vehicle producer in the U.S., and it’s wonderful to see how we are continuing to expand and deepen our automotive supplier base, creating lasting jobs throughout Alabama.”ILJIN supplies control arms, stabilizer links, ball joints and other components to major auto manufacturers. Alabama News Center

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