Court directs staff to negotiate tax abatement for proposed $200 million IEM facility and 2,960 jobs

Deborah Carter, director of Bexar County Economic Development, presented a proposed incentive for Industrial Electric Manufacturing (IEM), which seeks to develop a two-phase campus at Brooks Global Crossing with a total estimated capital investment of $200,000,000 and an estimated 2,960 new jobs. IEM’s COO (Mark Harris, S28) described Phase 1 as a 500,000-square-foot facility with construction expected to take 18 months and an opening targeted in 2028.

Economic-development staff recommended directing staff to negotiate a tax-abatement agreement (recommended offer: 10 years at a 70% abatement on $80,000,000 of personal property) and to approve an exception to the county’s standard minimum-job wage requirements because the project’s proposed base hourly wage is $18.27 (the county living wage cited in guidelines is $20.18). The recommended incentive value was presented to be roughly $1,047,454 based on the applicant’s numbers, and staff said that 90% of positions would be at or above the county’s all-industry wage of $21.34 per hour.

Commissioners welcomed the prospect of manufacturing jobs and workforce partnerships; several members urged coordination with workforce and educational partners to ensure local hiring and training pipelines. The court voted to direct staff to negotiate the agreement and to approve the exception to the minimum-job requirements required under the county’s tax-abatement guidelines. Staff were tasked to return with negotiated terms for formal approval.