Brookshire council approves 10-year tax abatement for Empire West/Tesla project after public hearing

The Brookshire City Council on a March 2025 regular meeting approved a 10-year tax abatement agreement with SRP Empire West Phase 2 and Tesla Inc., a measure the council passed by a 3-2 vote after a required public hearing.

City staff described the agreement as a 10-year abatement that applies only to improvements (the facility/buildings) and not to land, business inventory or other personal property. Staff said the abatement structure would reduce taxable value of improvements by 60% for the first 10 years, with the city retaining 40% of ad valorem taxes on those improvements during the abatement period. Staff also said the company committed to a large, taxable inventory figure referenced in the hearing as $300,000,000. Staff noted exact dollar figures for projected tax revenue were not available at the hearing.

At the public hearing, company representatives described the planned facility as a large advanced-manufacturing plant modeled on their Lathrop site. A Tesla representative said, “This facility will enable 1,500 advanced manufacturing jobs in this community.” The presenters said about 70% of those jobs would be production associates, 20% technicians, roughly 5% engineers and about 4% managers. They also described local internship and high-school outreach programs and said the construction phase would involve additional local hires (the representative cited about 205 people for construction roles).

Staff emphasized that the abatement applies only to improvements; land, inventory and personal property would remain taxable. A staff member told the council the city would retain 40% of the ad valorem taxes tied to the new improvements during the 10-year period. The staff member said the agreement mirrors the terms considered by the county commissioners earlier.

During the hearing some residents asked about local hiring and tax details. Resident Ruth Rodriguez said she and other long-time residents “would appreciate your patience and opportunity to work for you and show what we can do for you.” Company representatives said they have standard recruiting processes and cited examples of workforce programs used at other sites, including internships and high-school partnerships.

The council then took the item up for action. A motion “to approve the tax abatement agreement as presented” was made and seconded; council members recorded a 3-2 vote in favor, and the motion passed. The transcript records the final tally as “3 of 2.” The meeting record did not provide a full roll-call list of how each member voted at the public mic during the roll call; the motion’s maker and seconder were spoken during the vote sequence but the public minutes did not contain a complete named roll-call record tied to each vote.

Why it matters: the agreement reduces property tax revenue on the new facility for a decade in exchange for the company locating a large manufacturing operation in Brookshire. City officials and residents will likely monitor subsequent site, hiring and tax details as the project moves forward.

The council closed the item after the vote and moved on to subsequent business.